Cherry Fire in Hobble Creek Canyon reaches 73% containment

SPRINGVILLE — Fire crews made progress on a wildfire burning in Hobble Creek Canyon, east of Springville, over the weekend.

The Cherry Fire is mapped at 540 acres and is now 73% contained, according to a Monday evening social media post by the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, a division of the U.S. Forest Service.

On Friday, the Forest Service reported the fire had burned more than 650 acres. Then, after firefighters were able to walk the entire perimeter of the fire on Sunday, they determined the acreage was less than the original estimate.

The wildfire sparked Thursday evening, rapidly forcing evacuations of some homes and campsites in the area.

Since then, crews have been successful at reaching containment on the west and south portions of the fire, fire officials said. Cooler temperatures and rain from the weekend's storms have played a crucial role in slowing the fire's growth.

"Recent rainfall has significantly aided firefighting efforts, with crews reporting minimal remaining heat within the fire area," reads a Sunday post from Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest officials.

However, crews aren't out of the clear just yet, as fire officials say active heat remains around the fire's edge. Firefighters worked Monday to suppress hot spots while also turning their attention to gaining containment on the north and south perimeters of the fire.

With the progress made on the wildfire, local firefighting crews will assume full response efforts and monitor conditions until full containment is reached, fire officials said.

Utah County Emergency Management has lifted all evacuation levels for the fire. Fire managers planned to open the right fork of Hobble Creek Canyon on Monday at 7 p.m.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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