Moisture from Mother Nature ended up helping firefighters on Saturday contain a wildfire that burned 4,200 acres of Promontory Point near the Great Salt Lake.
But a new wildfire caused by an escaped campfire was being driven by unstable winds on Smith Mesa in southern Utah.
Washington County Emergency Services reported the fire was burning through grass and trees above the Virgin area between the Kolob Road and the Smith Mesa Test site.
On Saturday evening, Mike Melton, fire management officer for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, reported the fire had burned 138 acres and was about 30 percent contained. He said crews will work overnight and into Sunday morning to contain the fire.
Fire units from multiple agencies were fighting the blaze including an air tanker, a helicopter, 18 engines and three water tenders.
The fire was driven Saturday by unstable winds that were changing direction frequently, the agency reported. Initially, the fire burned around two cabins and a trailer in the area, but Melton said they weren't damaged. As of Saturday evening, two additional cabins were being threatened by the blaze.
Fire incident commanders are asking that the public stay away from the area, allowing firefighters to work without interference.
As for the Promontory fire, rainy weather Saturday helped to cool things off, said Jason Curry, spokesman for the Interagency Fire Center, allowing fire crews to contain the blaze that began Friday after lightning struck the area. The fire, which burned an area about 65 miles northwest of Salt Lake City and 45 miles west of Brigham City, was 100 percent contained as of 2 p.m. Saturday, Curry said.
No injuries or structural property damage was reported.
