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Wildfire closes Powder Mountain Resort and Pineview Reservoir

(Courtesy Weber County) A plane drops retardant on a wildfire burning Thursday, Aug. 30, 3018, along the border of Cache and Weber counties. The fire prompted precautionary evacuations of the nearby Powder Mountain resort.

Guests visiting Powder Mountain Resort in Eden on Thursday were asked to evacuate as a precaution when a wildfire sparked nearby, and access to the resort and the nearby Pineview Reservoir will be prohibited until Friday morning at the earliest as crews battle the blaze.

The fire ignited about 4 p.m. at a gun range in the South Canyon area, near Avon and Liberty, according to Cache County 911 dispatchers. By Thursday night, it was estimated to have burned 783 acres, Weber County spokeswoman Sasha Clark said. Crews hadn’t gotten any of the fire contained.

According to Powder Mountain’s Twitter account, patrons and residents were told to evacuate the resort about 4:30 p.m. Officials also have banned traffic from going up Powder Mountain Road, also known as State Road 158, into the resort. About a dozen people were displaced.

Pineview Reservoir, south of Eden, was closed to to the public so it would be clear of people in case firefighters needed water from the lake, Clark said.

Crews will determine whether to reopen the road and reservoir at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Clark said.

The fire also caused the cancellation of the final race of the Paper Airplane MTB Series. The race was set to begin at 6:45 p.m., according to the resort’s website.

Firetrucks have been dispatched to the scene, as have a tanker dropping retardant and a helicopter dropping water, fire officials said.

Weber County Emergency Management said the fire wasn’t threatening buildings.