This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Aided by fire retardant- and water-laden aircraft, about 50 firefighters worked Monday to keep the 4,000-acre Box Canyon Fire from spreading outside its remote, steep and rugged perimeter in Summit County.
The human-caused, four-week-old blaze continued to consume conifer, aspen and fallen dead timber about 12 miles east of Oakley, and it began Monday at 20 percent containment. Crews were focused on preventing any further spread downslope into Smith and Morehouse Canyon, or toward the Ledgefork Campground, Fire Incident Commander Nick Hillman reported.
No structures were threatened and no injuries had been reported, but the campground, the Smith and Morehouse Reservoir boat ramp and the Mud Lake Flats area, along with some trails in those districts, were closed for public safety reasons.
The Peterson Hollow Fire, now mostly burning toward the Idaho side of the state line, had topped 1,200 acres and was 22 percent contained as of Monday, said Fire Information Officer Sierra Hellstrom.
In all, 311 firefighters battled that blaze of undetermined origin. Crews were concentrating on keeping the flames within the unpopulated and rough terrain where it began Aug. 21, burning mostly timber and grass about 6 miles northwest of Garden City, Utah.
"Despite some tree torching, the Peterson Hollow Fire [has] made no significant runs," Hellstrom reported.
Meanwhile, central Utah's Briggs Fire was being monitored by about 10 firefighters, but otherwise being allowed to burn in the Beaver District of the Fishlake National Forest. In spots, back fires were set to deprive the blaze of uncontrolled fuels.
"Over the last 14 days a lot of progress has been made in firing operations, improving contingency lines and protecting values at risk," said Fire Information Officer Daniel Claessen, adding that it likely will take the onset of winter and snowfall to finally snuff the last of the flames.
The lightning-sparked fire had burned 3,418 acres along the south fork of North Creek since it was first reported on Aug. 9, about 10 miles northeast of Beaver.
Several other, smaller wildfires also were being allowed to burn throughout the state where potential for structural damage was nil, and the benefits to the health of forest lands involved were deemed positive in the long term.
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