The Jacob City Fire that ignited east of Stockton on Saturday afternoon widened overnight, but had dipped to just under 4,000 acres as of Sunday afternoon at 2:20 p.m., according to Utah Fire Info.
The blaze is currently at 0% containment as the Northern Utah Interagency Type 3 Incident Management Team has taken command of the situation, ordering more resources. Per Utah Fire Info, updated mapping has the blaze at 3,776 acres. The fire has been less active Sunday, but was picking up as temperatures warmed. Smoke and ash have continued in Salt Lake and Utah counties and Tooele, but those areas are not in danger.
Public information officer Sierra Hellstrom told The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday morning that 125 firefighters are working the blaze, while the more favorable Sunday conditions would allow aircraft support to get a better idea of what exactly crews are dealing with.
Smoke and ash from the fire drifted across the Salt Lake Valley during the late afternoon Saturday as firefighters worked toward containment. The fire has scorched both sides of Soldier Canyon in Tooele County, per Utah Fire Info.
The Soldier and Settlement Canyon areas are currently closed, per Hellstrom.
While the weather was predicted to be more favorable Sunday, wind yielded smoke from Millard County, where two wildfires that ignited Friday have burned a combined 8,456 acres.
The smoke from the fires has affected the air quality in Salt Lake County. On Sunday morning, IQAir.com had Salt Lake City’s Air Quality Index (AQI) at 48, which falls into the website’s ‘good’ category. That number was actually an improvement over Saturday evening, when it was 55, which is considered ‘moderate.’
An AQI of 48, while safe, also qualified as the worst AQI in the United States on Sunday morning, ahead of Los Angeles, which was at 41.
Follow @Joshua_Newman