A lightning-sparked wildfire charred about 4,900 acres near northern Utah’s Promontory Mountains, before firefighters were able to contain the blaze Thursday.
Jason Curry, of the state Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, estimated that 100 percent of the fire had been contained as of about 8:30 p.m.
Curry said about 40 firefighters worked the blaze Thursday, aided by fire-retardant-bearing tanker aircraft. The fire was burning in sage, grass and juniper about 20 miles north of Promontory Point and near Rozel Point.
The fire, which began about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, initially was whipped by winds gusting to 40 mph and spread rapidly. Early on, several structures — outbuildings near the Fort Ranch — were in peril, but by dawn that threat had been turned back.
Curry said previous fire-prevention work in the area of the ranch had paid off. So-called "fuel breaks," where crews in years past had dug out highly flammable native vegetation and replaced it with plants that have a high water content, appeared to have helped halt the spread of flames toward the ranch.
Meanwhile, dry weather and continued windy weather prompted an expanded number of "Red Flag" fire danger advisories for the state on Thursday.
The National Weather Service warned of potential for fires with explosive growth potential for swatches of Utah ranging from Duchesne, Green River and Moab in the east and Nephi, Manti and Richfield in the central portion of the state to southwestern Utah from the Nevada border to Delta, and south to Cedar City, Zion National Park and St. George.
The Busby Fire, which burned 487 acres of west desert rangeland 90 miles south of Wendover, had been 100 percent contained by Thursday morning, according to the Color Country Fire Management Office.
The Toquerville Falls Wildfire, started by lightning, was about 30 percent contained. However, all trails in the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park remained closed Thursday.
One firefighter was injured fighting the 200-acre blaze after experiencing an allergic reaction to a bee sting, authorities said. Crews hoped to contain the blaze by 8 p.m. Friday.
Near full containment was the 4,406-acre Plateau Fire, burning in northern Arizona about 10 miles south of Bloomington, Utah, while the 750-acre Scenic Fire Complex, a grouping of eight lightning-sparked blazes along the Utah-Arizona border in the Arizona Strip area, also was 95 percent contained.
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