MONROE, Sevier County — Power crews are working to restore service in Bear Valley as the containment area at the Monroe Canyon Fire continued to decrease Saturday.
The fire is now just 4% contained, and grew to 57,118 acres overnight, with the cause remaining under investigation. Containment of the fire slipped from 11% on Thursday to 7% on Friday, as red flag conditions — a mix of warm temperatures, low relative humidity levels and gusty winds — continued to make for difficult firefighting conditions.
Temperatures remain in the high 80s to low 90s, and winds have been consistently around 27 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph, according to a press release from Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team No. 5 officials.
The National Weather Service has also extended the red flag warning for south-central Utah until 10 p.m. Saturday. Meanwhile, Garkane Energy and Rocky Mountain Power were working diligently to replace damaged poles so that power can be restored, the release said.
A calmer day was reported Friday, as fire crews successfully held state Route 24, keeping the fire west of the road, despite the high winds. The highway has reopened to all traffic and experienced no closures overnight.
Hotshots will look to finish line construction between Manning Meadow and Marysville Peak, while crews will monitor for hot spots in Manning and Monroe Meadows, as well as Glenwood Mountain.
More firefighting aircraft have arrived, and crews are bringing in a temporary air traffic tower to station at the Richfield airport.
Firefighters will also now be working along the roads in coming days, and the public is being asked to drive safely around them, the release said.
