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Sandra Yi ReportingIn the skies above Centerville the smoke is going away, but the fire remains and a new danger may be on the way. Crews have been battling that Centerville fire since Tuesday. It flared up yesterday, but has been calm today--although winds can change that at any moment.
Greg Underwood, Wasatch-Cache National Forest: "It hasn't really flared up yet today. It possibly could but hopefully not."
Cooler temperatures over night helped calm that fire down. So far it has burned about 215 acres and is more than 20 percent contained. Homes are safe from flames but another threat looms as storms are forecasted this weekend. Crews are trying to keep it from growing as a large fire can create other problems like mudslides.
Greg Underwood, Wasatch-Cache National Forest: "The level of any danger to homes is unknown at this point, but there is some potential for it to slide, yeah."
Six mudslides hit Farmington Canyon Saturday after an overnight storm. People who saw the aftermath say they were knee deep in mud. Other areas saw up to 24 inches. A mudslide in one spot measured about 3 feet deep and 10 feet wide.
The slides took place where earlier this month a two thousand acre wildfire stripped the area's vegetation. Another storm could cause floods and more mud flow.
Paul Flood, Soil Scientist: "Now this drain right here has already unloaded about 60 cubic yards of material. I don't know how much is up there. We could probably see that amount of material again."
Forest Service crews began work today to prevent flood damage in the future. They're cleaning the culverts that were clogged with mud and debris. They say if another storm hits the water will flow freely through the drain and over the slopes.
Paul Flood, Soil Scientist: "That's where the biggest danger is, to have water that flows down the road and washes it out."
Farmington Canyon will be closed through tomorrow. Meanwhile, crews will continue to battle the Centerville fire.
That one and two others this month in Davis County were all human caused, which has firefighters urging people to be extra cautious as we head into August, which is the driest month of the year.
In other fire news, crews fighting a wildfire in Montana today say they're making progress. Firefighters near Glacier National Park are setting their own fires designed to draw the blaze away from the Park's headquarters. Those "burnouts" help create a line to contain the fire.
Hundreds of people have already evacuated the area and officials told them last night to be patient since the burnouts seem to be working.
The fire has burned nearly 19-thousand acres and is 35 percent contained. But this blaze is only one of three wildfires burning in and around Glacier National Park.
And a wildfire in burning in northern Idaho destroyed four homes and damaged two others. Hot temperatures, low humidity and increasing winds fed flames throughout the state.
