This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Updated: 1:02 PM- KANOSH - The largest wildfire in state history grew this morning, topping 300,000 acres as fresh crews rushed to the blackened high deserts and grasslands of southcentral Utah.
Fields of grass, pinyon pine, juniper and sagebrush lining Interstate 15 are gone. A fast-moving wildfire, it had topped 283,000 acres as of Sunday night, and grew at least another 17,000 acres overnight. Covering some 470 square miles, it is charring everything in its path and left a gray haze of smoke that distorted the daylight.
Fire management spokeswoman Kathy Jo Pollock says up to 500 new firefighters are expected today to join about 170 already on scene. Also monitoring the situation in person today is Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.
The Utah Highway Patrol had planned to close Interstate 15 near the Milford Flat fire later this afternoon so fire crews could create a backburn, but a shift in wind direction canceled those plans for now. Crews are focusing on keeping flames to the west of I-15, and halting the spread of the blaze on its southern perimeter.
Northbound motorists trying to avoid the fire by cutting through Zion National Park will be charged the full $25 entry fee, said park spokesman Ron Terry.
There are two other northbound routes from I-15 to U.S. 89 that would avoid the fire zone: Sstate Road 9 to Hurricane, then southeast on State Road 59/389 to Fredonia, Ariz., north to U.S. 89 in Kanab; and northbound I-15 to Cedar City, then east on State Road 14 to U.S. 89.
The Milford Flat fire has destroyed at least one home and about a dozen outbuildings. It was threatening 330 structures, including some homes, from Manderfield north to Cove Fort. No towns were ordered to evacuate.
Flames crossed sections of I-15 in northern Beaver County Sunday, forcing its closure at the junction of I-70 south of Cove Fort to just south of Beaver for about five hours. It was the second day the blaze jumped the interstate, creating a hellish thoroughfare that threatened motorists.
On Saturday, about 100 vehicles were temporarily trapped on a stretch of I-15 after authorities closed down the freeway in the fire area, and two California motorcyclists died in a collision in blinding smoke. Motorists taking Sunday's detour found themselves in bumper-to-bumper traffic with a delay of some three hours.
The fire remained out of control, but so far has spared Historic Cove Fort, the pioneer-era resting place for travelers operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and staffed by 32 senior missionaries who live nearby.
"This fire has been extremely stubborn," said Mike Melton, state fire manager for Beaver, Iron, Garfield, Kane and Washington counties. "It has basically been doing what it wants. There is no real moving fire front."
Weather conditions fueling the blaze - temperatures in the 90s with single-digit humidity and steady winds - are expected to continue through the week.
About 500 firefighters, including a highly trained Type I management team, were expected to arrive Sunday. But some of those crews were delayed, in part due to other fires in the West, including Utah's Neola North fire. They are expected to arrive today.
"We are trying to use the resources the best we can, and do the best we can with what we have," Melton said.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration approved a state request for emergency federal funds, meaning that the agency could cover up to three-quarters of eligible firefighting costs.
Melton said the Milford Flat fire "will probably become the No. 1 priority in the nation."
On Sunday, residents who had been evacuated the day before returned to find forests, fields and homes singed or destroyed.
Allen Carey and his wife left their trailer home south of Cove Fort on Saturday to visit a newborn grandson in Salt Lake City. There, they heard about the Milford Flat Fire on the television news and headed back home.
"We heard rumors that it may have been saved, may not," said Carey, as he stood beside the smoldering rubble that was his trailer home. "We didn't know until we arrived."
Although Carey said he removed some trees as a firebreak, the blaze consumed everything within a few hundred yard radius of his home. It caused an estimated $200,000 in damage for which the couple have no insurance.
Flames came within a few hundred yards of Historic Cove Fort in the hillsides to the west, but neither the fort nor the newer buildings around it were damaged.
Cove Fort director Kent Jones said the site's missionaries were ordered out Friday night but returned Saturday and gave tours as usual. When a wind blew to the east about 2 p.m. and brought flames close to the fort and the trailer park where the missionaries live, Jones said, and everyone had to leave again.
"A couple of them got their trailers out, but they had to drive through flames," Jones said. "This has been a very, very frightening experience. This whole valley was filled with smoke and flames and ash."
No RVs or trailers were destroyed, Jones said. The missionaries returned Sunday and resumed tours.
Ignited by a lightning strike near Milford Friday afternoon, the blaze traveled 40 miles in its first 24 hours, firefighting officials said, and has continued to expand since then.
For the most part, the fire has traveled in a northeast direction. But the blaze also has shown a tendency to expand from its forward arm and burn to the south and southeast.
On Saturday evening, Alan Peacock saw a wall of flames traveling east toward his home near Cove Fort and told his wife to grab what she could and get out.
"I figured the house was burned, it was gone," Peacock said.
The house survived Saturday, but was in danger again Sunday afternoon when flames climbed a ridge north of Peacock's farm. A small crew of firefighters arrived and a helicopter began deluging the flames with water. The fire was held to north side of the ridge, and Peacock's house escaped again.
Royce Stevens, a 32-year-old wildland firefighter from Holden, on Sunday called the Milford Flat blaze "pretty amazing."
"It's fire behavior like I haven't seen before," said Stevens.
The blaze was jumping over back fires lit by firefighters and fire breaks carved into the earth by men and women using hand tools. A juniper tree would catch fire, Stevens said, and wind would push its ambers into fresh fuel on the other side of a break.
Stevens began battling the fire Friday night, working 24 consecutive hours before sleeping Saturday night. He was back at work Sunday.
---
*Jason Bergreen contributed to this report.
By the numbers
A total of 109 local firefighters battled the Milford Flat wildfire Sunday. They were aided by:
* 11 engines
* 5 water tenders
* 6 bulldozers
* 3 graders
* 2 helicopters
* 2 single-engine air tankers
* 1 air attack lead