- The Willard Peak Fire in North Ogden has burned 577 acres since Wednesday.
- No homes have been torched, but 150 households remain evacuated until 10 p.m.
- Firefighters reached 14% containment as they continue to combat the blaze.
NORTH OGDEN — The Willard Peak Fire in North Ogden that prompted evacuations and threatened homes continued to burn Thursday evening, covering more than 577 acres, though no homes or buildings have been torched.
"We still have an active fire," said Kelly Wickens, the Utah Department of Natural Resources official serving as spokeswoman for the firefighting effort. While actual flames weren't visible midday Thursday, a plume of smoke rose into the air from the location — much smaller, though, than the large clouds of billowing smoke seen on Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday evening, fire officials announced they had reached 14% containment of the fire
The fire on the mountainside just above North Ogden, below Ben Lomond Peak, started Wednesday afternoon. It burned through the night, with orange fire spots visible from afar on the mountainside, and officials had yet to contain any of it, Wickens said Thursday, though firefighters kept up their efforts around the clock.
"The fire burned right to the homes, but no homes were lost," she said.
A section of northeastern North Ogden abutting the fire area had to be evacuated on Wednesday given the proximity of the fire. The evacuation order, impacting 150 households, will remain in effect until 10 p.m., Northern Utah Interagency Type 3 Team spokeswoman Sierra Hellstrom said in a Thursday evening update, but residents who go back home should be prepared to evacuate again, if need be.
Hellstrom explained that firefighters want to first contain the perimeter of the blaze before letting those who were evacuated return to their homes.
On Wednesday, fire officials had said the wildfire extended to 200-300 acres, but Wickens said they were able to better map the fire zone, measuring it at 577 acres as of Thursday evening. The fire zone spreads largely up the mountain north of the site where it started in the 3400 block of 1050 East and southeasterly along the mountain.
Wickens said firefighters doused hot spots overnight. The focus of firefighters on Thursday was preventing the fire from reaching structures and containment. Firefighters hiked into the mountain to pinpoint hot spots, Hellstrom said, and helicopters were dumping water at the locations they identified.
Winds and weather had the potential to pop up between 6:30-7:30 p.m., according to Hellstrom. The potential of stronger winds increasing fire conditions is why residents need to wait until 10 p.m. to return to their homes, she said Thursday evening.
Around 200 people have worked on the fire since this morning, Hellstrom said, and most of the fire has not been visible, except in the northern and southern flanks, where there is more brush.
As firefighting continues, officials are still investigating the cause. The call for the fire came in around 2 p.m. Wednesday, and when North View Fire District firefighters arrived at the location on 1050 East, they found a parked car fully engulfed in flames near the spot where 1050 turns from pavement into a dirt road. Just up the mountain, there were two additional fires in the brush — three separate fires in all, according to Jeremiah Jones, deputy chief for the fire district.
The vehicle had been removed as of Thursday, but black residue from the fire was still visible in the street where it burned. Keri Richter lives near the location and had heard talk that the vehicle overheated, but officials haven't said what caused the car to burn.
Richter, who lives just west of the evacuation zone, remained in her home overnight. Late Wednesday, the orange fire spots on the mountain "looked really bad," she said, while heavy clouds of smoke earlier Wednesday masked the fire.
"It was so smoky you couldn't even see the flames," she said.
Emerson Lomaquahu, who also lives in the neighborhood, said the fire Wednesday night was a dramatic sight.
"You could see the fire out here," he said, gesturing to a wide swath of mountain that is now blackened. "Man, those flames were really raging."
A shelter for those evacuated was set up in Pleasant View at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, operated by the Red Cross of Northern Utah. Michael Smauldon, executive director of the Red Cross branch, said eight families stayed at the location, four inside the shelter and four on the meetinghouse grounds in their own trailers.
Wickens said many have questioned why the blaze is called the Willard Peak Fire. The fire is closer to Ben Lomond Peak, which overlooks North Ogden. However, she said "Ben Lomond" and "North Ogden" had been used to name prior fires, so fire officials tapped Willard Peak, located north of Ben Lomond Peak.
This story may be updated.
