Utah State Fire officials were reporting late Sunday that the Monviso fire, near the Mirror Lake Highway, had burned 65 acres and was 45 percent contained.
Jason Curry, a spokesman for the state Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said the fire is located in the Monviso development right off Highway 150, which is private land. It’s about 30 miles south of Evanston.
The total burned acreage is made up of several spot fires.
Eight cabins were evacuated after the fire broke out Thursday. The highway and nearby campgrounds are open, but caution is advised for travelers going into the Uintas.
Curry said they determined that the cause of the fire was an abandoned campfire. Curry reports there was noone on the scene when it happened and not enough was done to put the fire out.
He said they’ve identified the individuals responsible and are following up.
Curry said that neglect of still-smoldering campfires is a huge concern, and they’re shocked to see it still happening in the area.
"We have still seen people who in the morning they get up and they go to the lake or the pond or get on their ATV and go on the trail. And when they leave their campsite their fire is smoldering away, and they haven’t taken any measures to put it out.” Curry explained “The grass appears like its really green and not susceptible to burning, but there’s a lot of undergrowth. It is deceptively dry, people need to be sure they’re putting plenty of water on that fire, stirring up and then feeling it with their hand to make sure it is cool. If you feel like you might get burned if you put your hand in it, that means you haven’t put enough water and you haven’t stirred it up enough. “
He said that it was somewhat windy on Saturday, but Sunday they were seeing light breezes and cooler temperatures. He said their goal for Sunday was to wrap up the scene.
“We hope to wrap up and mop up all of the edges of these spot fires, we’re hoping that today we’ll be able to get a lot of progress on containment.” Curry said “We’re very pleased that the firefighters were able to hold everything with the wind.”
Utah Fire spokesman Jason Curry. They have had up to 145 personnel on site, but they were planning to let some crews go, reducing that down to 120 by Monday.
