This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In their fourth week of firefighting, crews on Tuesday were nearing 50 percent containment of the obstinate Saddle Wildfire burning in southwestern Utah's Dixie National Forest.
Nearly 300 firefighters, aided by water- and fire retardant bearing aircraft above and bulldozers on the ground, had reached 42 percent containment of the 1,647-acre blaze. The fire has been burning in brush, timber and grass on Saddle Mountain since it was ignited by lightning on June 13.
As of Tuesday, 54 summer homes in the area, about 25 miles north of St. George, still were considered under potential threat — one tenth the number in peril just a week ago, when flames came within a mile of Pine Valley residences.
Fire information officer Megan Saylors said the bulk of the firefighting offense remained in the hands of air tanker and helicopter pilots, who continued to dump tons of water and flame-stalling chemicals on flaring hot spots and along the perimeter of Saddle Mountain. On the slopes and in draws approaching homes, ground crews were making steady progress widening existing, natural fire breaks and cutting new ones.
Crews also focused Tuesday on "firing operations," or setting controlled back fires intended to deprive the still out-of-control wildfire of the possible routes to escape tightening containment lines.
"Residents in the area may see an increase in smoke and fire activity," Saylors stated, especially in the Forsyth Canyon area.
As of Tuesday, the Saddle Wildfire had cost nearly $10 million to fight, she added.
Voluntary evacuation advisories had been lifted for Pine Valley except for a portion of the Lloyd Canyon subdivision, where residents remained under warning to be prepared to clear out on short notice.
All campgrounds, hiking trails and the entire area within the Pine Valley Recreation Area remained closed to all recreational uses. The Grass Valley Road from Pinto to Pine Valley and Mahogany Bench Road also was closed.
Meanwhile, U.S. Forest Service, Weber and Morgan county crews — about 90 firefighters total — worked to snuff the 52-acre Canyon Fire, sparked Monday by a passing freight train Monday in Weber Canyon, near Interstate 84. The fire was 70 percent contained as of 4 p.m., and fire officials planned to release about 20 firefighters before Wednesday.
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