- Monroe Canyon Fire in central Utah doubled in size over the weekend.
- Firefighters focus on structure protection amid strong winds and low humidity.
- Containment increased to 16%; about 1,000 personnel battling the blaze Monday.
MONROE, Sevier County — Federal firefighters are still focused on protecting structures as they continue to battle a central Utah wildfire that doubled in size over the weekend.
However, Mother Nature isn't apt to provide many favors to start this week.
The Monroe Canyon Fire has now grown to 23,265 acres in size, after nearly reaching 11,000 acres on Saturday morning, Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team officials reported Monday. They explained that a mix of strong wind gusts and low relative humidity helped fan flames toward dry vegetation northeast of the fire over the weekend, allowing for fire growth.
Firefighters "observed intense fire activity" within the Elk Country, Porters, Big Lake and Long Flat areas, and "were engaged in structure protection," the agency reported.
"We did have significant activity to the northeast (on Sunday). I imagine folks from town saw the (smoke) column," added Mike Bertagnolli, planning operations chief for the team assigned to the fire, in a video update uploaded Monday.
Similar weather conditions are in Monday's forecast, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a red flag warning for parts of central and southwest Utah that remains in place through 9 p.m.
Despite the growth, crews were able to make some ground in battling the fire over the weekend.
Containment grew from 13% on Sunday to 16% on Monday. Crews were able to make ground by Signal Peak and areas within the northwest section of the fire map, thanks to projects over the past decade that have reduced fire threats, Bertagnolli explained. The fire's growth has been less aggressive in those areas.
About 1,000 personnel were assigned to the fire on Monday. He added that crews will continue to address that section of the fire, as well as other sections that have been more challenging to manage. Per Bertagnolli:
- The fire broke through some of the fire reduction projects near the Long Flat and Big Lake areas over the weekend. Crews are working on creating lines that seek to "catch the fire" as it moves north.
- Work to suppress hot spots and protect structures from "any future threat or harm" has also been a key priority in the Monroe, Manning Meadows and Magleby areas along the eastern line of the fire. Firefighters have had more success in preventing the eastern fire line from growing thus far.
- Additional work will continue along an active western section of the fire map, where crews plan to build lines to protect the Manning Reservoir and Hunts Lakes areas in case the flames move toward those locations.
Another Great Basin team will take over operations this week; however, a community meeting is scheduled for Monday evening. Firefighters will provide an update on operations at Snow College's Sorensen Administration Building, 800 W. 200 South in Richfield, beginning at 7 p.m. The event will also be streamed live.
U.S. Forest Service officials also announced Monday that they've adjusted their closure order at Fishlake National Forest, reopening more land toward the southern end of the Monroe Mountain range.
The Monroe Canyon Fire has become the state's top fire concern, now that the France Canyon and Forsyth fires — which burned more than 50,000 acres combined in southern Utah — are both virtually fully contained. The Deer Creek Fire, which began in San Juan County, is now 77% contained. It has burned more than 17,700 acres between Utah and Colorado.
Flames aren't the only concern with the fires. Smoke from the Monroe Canyon and fires burning in and around the North Rim of the Grand Canyon will continue to produce poor air quality and low visibility in communities northeast of the fires on Monday, according to the National Weather Service. The agency says winds will decrease as the direction shifts from the southwest to west on Tuesday.
