This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Cooler conditions and diminishing winds were helping firefighters go on the offensive Tuesday against the West Government Creek Fire, which had blackened nearly 4,250 acres of remote western Tooele County.
Fire Information Officer Willie Begay said the blaze was 45 percent contained. It was not threatening structures, though flames were threatening critical sage grouse habitat within that western section of the Uinta Wasatch-Cache National Forest.
"We continue to make good progress on the fire," Begay said. "The objectives are to protect the sage grouse habitat, archaeological sites and the Government Creek watershed."
Unlike several other Utah wildfires being allowed to burn as beneficial to forest and rangeland health, more than 200 firefighters — supported by air tankers and helicopters laden with fire retardant chemicals and water — were in "full suppression" mode for this blaze, sparked by lightning Friday about 10 miles southwest of Vernon.
In the first hours of the fire as wind-driven flames pushed through parched stretches of timber, brush and grass, authorities evacuated 20 campers from the area; those evacuations had been lifted by Tuesday.
Crews worked at cutting fire breaks and lines along the Erickson Pass and Pony Express roads, and just west of Red Pine Mountain.
Firefighters expected to have the blaze fully contained by Sept. 13, Begay said.
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