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BURMESTER, Tooele County — A wildfire in a remote area west of the Great Salt Lake had grown to 9,900 acres as of Sunday night, authorities said.
The wildfire ignited around 3 p.m. Saturday in the Lakeside Mountains, and is believed to have been caused by target shooting, said Tooele County Fire Warden Dan Walton.
Walton said the initial response to the fire was hampered because part of it comes within 5 miles of the U.S. Magnesium federal environmental Superfund site, meaning fire crews were informed they "could not go into" that particular area.
Authorities are "not sure about any health concerns" that could arise by virtue of fighting the fire in that area, according to Walton.
By Sunday morning, the fire had grown to 3,600 acres, and continued to expand, reaching 9,900 acres by the evening. The fire was 50 percent contained Sunday evening, Walton said.
Aside from some communications infrastructure, no structures are threatened by the fire, according to Walton. He said the goal is to have the fire about 90 percent contained by the end of Monday.
Agencies fighting the fire include the North Tooele Fire District, Grantsville Fire Department and U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
The following is a comprehensive map of wildfires in Utah for 2018. Zoom in to see the 10 largest fire areas, and click on the icons for more information.
#Fires_map
