Crews on Sunday were closing containment lines around a week-old fire near Deer Creek Reservoir, and had turned the corner on a newer, arson-caused blaze in Mill Creek Canyon.
Fire Information Officer Kim Osborn reported that the 640-acre Wheeler Fire began Sunday at 90 percent contained, and crews hoped to declare the stubborn blaze — believed sparked by an ATV — completely hemmed in by nightfall.
Meanwhile, the 5-acre Church Fork Fire had topped 50 percent containment, with about 50 firefighters on the lines. The danger to homes in the Mount Aire community, which initially had been under a voluntary evacuation order, was over. At one point, flames had approached within a mile of the area.
Unified Police officers arrested 35-year-old James O. Gill on Saturday and booked him into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of second-degree arson. He allegedly had told officers repeatedly that he had used a cigarette lighter to ignite the Church Fork blaze about 11 p.m. on Friday.
Motorists venturing into the Mill Creek Canyon area were once again advised on Sunday to expect delays, but the canyon was reopened as of 11 a.m. Sunday, with emergency vehicles getting priority use. Numerous trails also had been closed, among with the Pipeline, Elbow Fork, Big Water and Lambs Canyon routes.
Once again, a privately-operated drone flew into a Utah fire's airspace on Saturday, this time on the Church Fork scene. Authorities were investigating, noting that the drone complicated helicopter and air tanker operations.
The state's largest remaining fire, the Oak Grove blaze in southwestern Utah's Dixie National Forest, 3 miles outside the town of Leeds, was 10 percent contained. It was being monitored, with the fire allowed to burn within its remote and rugged 833-acre interior, according to Fire Information Officer Marcia Gilles.
remims@sltrib.com
Twitter: @remims
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