This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Crews on Thursday were making steady headway toward containing several lightning-caused Utah wildfires.
The largest of the blazes, the 2,175-acre Solitude Fire in the Pahvant Range, was ignited by a thunderstorm on July 19, about 10 miles northwest of Richfield.
Fishlake National Forest spokesman John Zapell said the fire was 50 percent contained. On Thursday, a small contingent of firefighters continued to monitor the blaze as it smoldered in timber and brush, watching for flareups and hot spots.
No injuries had been reported and no structures had been lost, but authorities continued to ban traffic on the Strawberry Canyon and Solitude roads.
Meanwhile, Bureau of Land Management spokesman Andrew Atkinson said the Berry Fire had blackened 265 acres since it began on Aug. 14 near Rush Valley, about 25 miles southwest of Tooele. As of Thursday, the blaze was more than 60 percent contained.
About 35 firefighters were on the lines, mostly focused on mopping up hot spots and preventing any spread of cinders outside the fire perimeter into tinder-dry grass and brush.
The 140-acre Pole Canyon Fire, also sparked to life on Aug. 14, was 25 percent contained. It was creeping through oak brush, juniper and grass along the Deep Creek Mountains, which lie near the Utah-Nevada border.
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