The Rocky Canyon Fire has slowed, thanks to favorable winds and a little moisture over its south end. While the threat to the Coalville area has cooled, the fire continues to push into rocky areas near Henefer. Utah Fire Info posted an update Wednesday morning mapping the Rocky Canyon Fire at 15 ,366 acres and 25% containment, adding that firefighters are making great progress along the lower elevations around the entire fire. “This is due to the hard work of a mixture of crews, heavy equipment and aviation supporting the efforts,” the post read. The threat to the I-84/I-80 junction and Coalville area is minimal at this point, Utah Fire Info said. There may be containment increase along this perimeter if crews continue to have success. In the fire’s northeast corner closest to Henefer, the fire is pushing high into the rocky area. As it continues to burn, the timber at these elevations will burn more hot and fast. Even through cooler temperatures, the fire has been making a large run onto the ridges. Crews will continue to be inserted into this higher ground to keep the fire from progressing up the northwest perimeter. The south side along S.R. 66 and S.R. 65 still looks mostly cool along the edge, but there are still many pockets of interior heat, Utah Fire Info said. Crews will continue to patrol this area and mop up where necessary. Night operations saw normal fire behavior, with active fire until about 3 a.m. when the fire mostly cooled and calmed. After that, it was more calm than other nights, according to Utah Fire Info. There were multiple hotspots in the higher elevations still heavily active, and the interior heat continues to burn all night There is a chance of rain Wednesday, and the cloud cover will help cool the fire again. The humidity has increased, and firefighters have good opportunity to make progress. Tuesday, Aug. 11 A mix of humidity, cloud cover and favorable winds helped prevent the Rocky Canyon Fire from spreading closer to Henefer on Tuesday afternoon, but officials are still concerned about the blaze along the northern ridgeline. Approximately 200 people from across the state are working with the North Summit Fire District to protect Henefer, Summit County’s smallest municipality. The fire has been difficult to reach because of the area’s challenging mountainous terrain, and officials said their priority overnight is to contain the flames, followed by a reassessment of the situation in the morning. Officials have also thanked Henefer residents for following the evacuation order and avoiding the area. However, North Summit Fire Chief Ben Nielson has reminded people to not linger on S.R. 65 to get a glimpse of the fire. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office is meeting twice a day to determine whether displaced residents may return to their homes or if the evacuation boundaries need to expand. The North Summit Fire District is staffing its stations as normal to respond to other emergencies within the district while the fire is ongoing. County Emergency Manager Kathryn McMullin praised the community for taking care of each other and said Red Cross volunteers are being sent home. However, they will remain on call and are in place to return if more evacuations are ordered. McMullin said there are also numerous housing options available for displaced residents, which is why the county hasn’t established a temporary shelter. She encouraged anyone who needs help with lodgings to contact her, her office or the county. The county has resources in place to assist residents who need to house a pet or animal, too. McMullin said multiple people have reached out to shelter livestock if needed, including help with transportation. Authorities held an in-person community meeting at the LDS Church in Coalville for residents impacted by the fire. Fire officials previously said the southeast edge of the fire was still creeping slowly southward. The firefighters have favorable conditions and will likely soon begin firing operations in an effort to remove vegetation in the path of the fire. Heavy equipment is creating fuel breaks in this area, as well. “New crews are scouting the rest of the eastern perimeter for accessible areas that have a higher probability of success to stop fire progression,” according to Utah Fire Info. The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office has decided to allow residents along S.R. 66 to return home, but the highway remains closed to through traffic. The most recent map of the Rock Canyon Fire on Tuesday morning. Credit: Map courtesy of Utah Fire Info Overnight, the Rocky Canyon Fire mostly burned into itself, thanks to the problematic winds shifting direction. Fire officials said that more accurate mapping set the size of the fire now at 13,601, and containment had grown to 23% by Tuesday morning. “The fire was the most active it’s been overnight since the start. Most of the conditions were not favorable for firing operations like fire managers hoped. So night crews worked to mop up hotspots that occurred yesterday with the high winds, and they were extremely successful,” officials said in a morning update on Utah Fire Info. They said no rain from thunderstorms fell on the fire, but higher humidity helped moderate fire behavior and wind gusts mostly pushed the fire into itself. They said the S.R. 66 corridor from Hogsback toward Morgan continued to hold. This is the area where containment was reached. The northeast corner closest to Henefer was looking good Tuesday morning, they said. Firefighters will continue going direct when possible to cut the fire off from continuing toward town. Crews may backfire in Franklin Canyon to minimize growth toward the I-80/I-84 junction and Coalville, depending on conditions. Officials predicted that cloud coverage will help cool the fire area through Tuesday, but there will again be gusty, erratic winds, which causes fire behavior to be less predictable. They also said that Utah Fire Info is the only official page for fire information. And in Utah, the county sheriffs are the only official source for evacuations. There was some brief confusion Monday afternoon about how much of the core of Henefer was ordered to evacuate immediately. Monday, Aug. 10 Henefer residents west of Main Street between East Canyon Road and South Henefer Road are under evacuation orders as of Monday afternoon. The announcement came nearly two hours after reports that the entire town was under evacuation, following a statement from the Northern Utah Type 3 Interagency Incident Management Team spokesperson. However, Summit County officials later clarified all of town was under SET status while other parts were under GO orders. Summit County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Search and Rescue volunteers were knocking on doors on West Henefer Road and South Henefer Road to notify residents about the evacuation orders. Winds have picked up and pushed the Rocky Canyon Fire toward Henefer. “Firefighters have been holding that line pretty steadily through the morning, but as we’ve seen this uptick in wind around us here, the fire is starting to make that push,” the spokeswoman said during a press conference. “We’re currently here where we’re doing the briefing in an area of the evacuation zone, so we’re going to keep this briefing short so that we ourselves can get out of the area safely,” she said. Summit County at 1:47 p.m. Monday announced the area from south of Franklin Canyon to Icy Springs/Wohali Way was in SET status for possible evacuation due to the Rocky Canyon Fire. That’s the step before GO, or the order to leave right away.   SET is not an evacuation order, but notice to “load your vehicle with your go bag and essentials. Please do not call 911 for updates,” the alert says.   More information is available on Summit County’s website and Utah Fire Info. Officials scheduled a community update session about the Rocky Canyon Fire at 7 p.m. Monday at the North Summit High School Auditorium, 111 East 100 South, Coalville. They said interested members of the public who are not directly affected are invited to join virtually. The livestream link: summitcountyut.zoom.us/j/95292509116Officials will be available for breakout discussions following the meeting, they said.A similar meeting was canceled Sunday evening as the fire intensified in the late afternoon and firefighters focused on evacuations and operational needs. The Northern Utah Interagency Type 3 team and crews by early Monday morning had completed and held firing operations from the Hogsback to the East Canyon Dam on the Rocky Canyon Fire, Utah Fire Info reported. “The fire remained within the perimeter, and the edge began to cool off around 3 a.m. Firefighters will work to mop this area up,” according to the update. Fire officials said crews were holding the fire perimeter on the southwest edge along Highway 66 to Morgan and will continue to mop up around the edge and protect structures. Crews also continued securing the western edge where the fire began Friday. If conditions continue, there soon may be containment around the East Canyon area of the fire, they said. On the north and east perimeter, the fire crossed Franklin Canyon on Sunday evening. “This area is especially difficult to access and crews are going as direct as possible to slow progression and protect structures,” according to the update. Officials said they remained concerned about the potential for fire growth on its southeast corner, with possible impact to the I-80/I-84 junction. Crews on Monday morning were going direct as much as possible, employing bull dozers and ground crews. Aircraft will support wherever needed. Isolated thunderstorms were predicted across the fire area throughout the day and forecast to become more likely around 2 p.m. They could bring sustained 45 mph winds and lightning. No damage to homes was reported, though the fire is zero percent contained and estimated at over 15,000 acres. For evacuation information: summitcountyutah.gov/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=481 Sunday, Aug. 9, 10 p.m. The Rocky Canyon Fire has grown to an estimated 13,000 acres, while jumping S.R. 65 and moving toward Echo Lake as more areas around Henefer are being evacuated. At 9:30 p.m. Summit County authorities expanded immediate evacuation to South Henefer Road (Ditch Road) in addition to Summit County Line at Hog Back Summit to West Henefer Road on both sides of the road, along with Henefer residents west of 300 West. They said residents in the remainder of Henefer “must be packed, highly alert, and prepared to leave at a moment’s notice because conditions can deteriorate rapidly,” though they were not at this time ordering an evacuation. A community meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. in Henefer about the Rocky Canyon Fire spreading toward town was canceled at 6:20 p.m. Residents west of Henefer were ordered to evacuate Sunday afternoon as the Rocky Canyon Fire spotted across S.R. 65 toward the town and Echo Lake and I-84. The Utah Fire Info map Sunday night shows the spread of the Rocky Canyon Fire across S.R. 65 and moving closer to Henefer as well as I-84 and Echo Lake. Credit: Utah Fire Info Jacklyn Rowser lives on South Henefer Road, paying close attention to alerts on her phone earlier Sunday evening before her area was evacuated. She said Sunday evening her family had moved their animals and packed her son’s insulin and family photos in case an evacuation order came. “I wasn’t too nervous this morning, but then it started coming down toward us,” she said. “It kind of keeps shifting with the wind and all that.” “We just hope for the best,” she added, while also ready to leave. By late Sunday afternoon, the Rocky Canyon Fire had moved east in Franklin Canyon south of Henefer. The Rowser family home, lower left, is on South Henefer Road at the mouth of Franklin Canyon. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record The fire began Friday on S.R. 66 near East Canyon Reservoir in Morgan County. Estimates of the fire’s size ranged up to nearly 13,000 acres by Sunday evening as it spread northeast into Summit County. Officials said the fire was human-caused. There have been no reports of structures lost so far. Strong west winds and temperatures into the high 90s have challenged firefighters, authorities said. Around 120 personnel were on the scene Sunday morning, and a type 3 incident command team was scheduled to take over. Resources include air tankers, helicopters, engine crews, hand crews and bulldozers. A firefighting twin engine jet drops retardant on a hillside in Franklin Canyon just west of South Henefer Road. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record Summit County’s evacuation alert for the areas west of Henefer was sent in error across the county, and also northern Utah. Officials quickly followed up with a clarification that only residents between the county line at Hog Back Summit and West Henefer Road were under evacuation orders at the time. The rest of Henefer was in a “READY status.” For more: summitcountyutah.gov/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=481 According to Morgan County’s emergency service officials: “The weather conditions have not been favorable this afternoon and the fire has expanded and jumped our lines on the Summit County side. Evacuations have taken place from East Canyon Marina to West Henefer. The fire has jumped S.R. 65 in two places. Air and ground crews are working tirelessly to establish a new line with a strong focus on structure protection.” The following images are taken by David Jackson/Park Record from Henefer on Sunday evening, looking up Franklin Canyon: Bulldozers were clearing fire breaks on the north side of Franklin Canyon south of Henefer as the Rocky Canyon Fire made advances toward the town Sunday evening. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record Firefighting teams were positioned Sunday evening at the mouth of Franklin Canyon as the Rocky Canyon Fire advanced to the east toward Henefer. On the left is a water tanker from South Summit Fire District with Engine 36 from the Park City Fire District staged for deployment. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record A firefighting helicopter, one of two fighting the Rocky Canyon Fire, makes its way to an assigned drop zone Sunday evening. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record A firefighting twin engine jet drops fire retardant on a hillside in Franklin Canyon just west of South Henefer Road. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record A firefighting twin engine jet drops fire retardant on a hillside in Franklin Canyon just west of South Henefer Road. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record The post Rocky Canyon Fire ‘minimal’ threat to Coalville, continues push to ridge near Henefer appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less