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What to know about the Rocky Canyon Fire, which sent smoke into Salt Lake City

The fire is burning more than 13,000 acres north of Park City.

(Utah Fire Info) Smoke from the Rocky Canyon Fire burning more than 13,000 acres north of Salt Lake City on Aug. 11, 2026.

(Utah Fire Info) Smoke from the Rocky Canyon Fire burning more than 13,000 acres north of Salt Lake City on Aug. 11, 2026.

Since it first sparked, the growing Rocky Canyon Fire burning north of Park City was the “most active it’s been” overnight Tuesday, Utah fire officials said.

Shifting winds also pushed smoke from the more than 13,000-acre blaze into Salt Lake City overnight Tuesday, rousing some east-side residents from bed.

“Strong enough to wake me up,” one person living in the Lower Avenues neighborhood wrote on Reddit of the “campfire smell.”

“I walked around my whole house checking to make sure I’m not on fire,” another in the Avenues neighborhood wrote.

Others in Sugar House, Capitol Hill and the downtown area chimed in too, curious and concerned.

By Tuesday morning, there were no prolonged air quality concerns after another shift in winds largely cleared smoke from the Salt Lake Valley, according to the National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City office.

(Utah Fire Info) Smoke rises from the Rocky Canyon Fire burning in Morgan and Summit counties north of Salt Lake City.

Despite the raging overnight fire activity across Morgan and Summit counties, crews were “extremely successful” mopping up overnight hotspots, according to Utah Fire Info.

The fire has ballooned since Sunday, when it was estimated at 2,800 acres.

The blaze was 23% contained as of Tuesday morning. A containment figure marks the percentage of a fire’s perimeter where crews feel confident flames won’t cross.

Officials had expected it to be “fully taken care of” by the end of Saturday, but high winds helped fuel its rapid growth.

The small town of Henefer was ordered to evacuate Monday afternoon, FOX 13 reported. That evacuation order was later adjusted to a smaller portion of the town’s population. A shelter was set up in Coalville.

Others who had been evacuated Saturday from Whites Crossing to East Canyon Dam were allowed to return home Tuesday, according to Morgan County Emergency Management.

Highway 66, which runs from Morgan to East Canyon State Park, remains closed to all but local traffic, the agency said.

East Canyon State Park also remains closed. So does Highway 65, which runs between the park and Henefer.

A community meeting for residents affected by evacuations was planned for 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 709 N. Main St., in Henefer.

Early Tuesday, winds near Henefer helped push the fire back onto itself and slow its spread, fire officials said; higher humidity also helped moderate flames.

But officials on Tuesday afternoon expected an “uptick in fire behavior” as temperatures rose, cloud cover moved out of the area and winds picked up.

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