Utah Wildfire: 2 Firefighters Hurt, More Than 700 Evacuated

CEDAR CITY, UTAH — Two firefighters are recovering from injuries at a wildfire in southwest Utah that has forced the evacuation of more than 700 people and shut down part of a highway.

Gov. Gary Herbert plans to tour the fire-damaged area around the town of Brian Head in the Dixie National Forest on Tuesday. One home has been destroyed and another damaged.

Forest Service spokeswoman Cigi Burton says one firefighter suffered a concussion and another a puncture wound. She says "both are recovering and doing well." (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Burton says the fire is growing slowly and crews are lighting backfires to help consume fuels in the path of the flames that have blackened roughly 1.5 square miles (2 square kilometers).

Photo credit: Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP