Utah Wildfire: Blaze Doubles In Size, 400 More Homes Evacuated

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — A wildfire near a southwestern Utah ski town has forced the evacuations of 400 more homes after the fire doubled in size amid high winds, authorities said Thursday.

Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday in a news conference on KUED-TV that the additional homes are east of the fire's epicenter in Brian Head. More than 700 people have been out of their homes since Saturday when the fire was started by someone using a torch to burn weeds.

The fire is burning about 250 miles (402 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City near a tiny mountain town that is home to the Brian Head Resort. The mountain bike and hiking trails, zip line and water tubing hill that lure summer visitors are closed while firefighters try and contain the blaze. The resort, which is a ski area in the winter, says on its website that it still plans to carry out summer activities that include music concerts and 4th of July events but that they don't when they'll be able to reopen. (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.)

One home has been destroyed in the blaze and another was damaged. It also caused minor damage at a Boy Scout camp in the area.

The unidentified person accused of starting the fire could face charges. Firefighting costs could rise to more than $1 million to fight, said Jason Curry of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.

The fire has spread to 17 square miles (44 square kilometers) and is heading toward the Panguitch Lake, where there are some homes, said Erin Darboven of the Bureau of Land Management. She said the lake is also used by recreationists.

Darboven said the stretch of Highway 143 that is closed has been extended to nearly 48 miles (77 kilometers) from Parowan to Panguitch. Previously, a 15-mile (24-kilometer) stretch was closed.

The Utah blaze is one of several burning in the U.S. Southwest as extreme heat makes it difficult for firefighters.

In New Mexico, authorities lifted the evacuation of more than 150 homes in the mountains east of Albuquerque as firefighters got a handle on fire that started Wednesday afternoon. It took crews a few hours to slow the flames and families were allowed to return to their homes by nightfall. The fire is now 75 percent contained.

In northern New Mexico, crews have started rehabilitation work on a fire that has charred more than 11 square miles (28 sq. kilometers) in the Bonita Canyon area. That fire was sparked by lightning nearly three weeks ago.

With the hot, dry conditions persisting, officials on the Santa Fe and Cibola national forests have imposed fire restrictions in hopes of limiting the chance of more human-caused fires.

Crews working in rugged terrain during a punishing heat wave are having a tough time building containment of a wildfire that's burned nearly 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles.

More than 1,200 firefighters are on the line Thursday, aided by a fleet of water- and fire retardant-dropping aircraft. The blaze has been at just 10 percent containment for several days. No structures are threatened.

A wildfire that briefly shut down a highway near Bakersfield was 50 percent contained Wednesday after burning about 2.3 square miles (5.9 kilometers) of dry brush.

By Brady McCombs, Associated Press

Photo credit: Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP