Fire authorities announced the 360-acre Dikker Hill fire was 84% contained around 2:30 p.m. July 26.
“The plan is that over this weekend, the Type 3 incident management team will transition to a Type 4 team, or a local team,” Summit County spokesperson Derek Siddoway said.
Fires range in severity from the lowest Type 5 up to the highest level of difficulty, Type 1. Type 3 fires trigger state and federal resources.
84% containment refers to how much of the fire’s perimeter is secure, not how much of the fire's 361 acres is still burning, explains northern Utah Type 3 spokesperson Brian Trick.
“Containment is where, on that perimeter, we're very confident that the fire—if it were to grow—would not be growing on that section of the perimeter,” Trick said.
A fire investigator determined July 25 the fire was human-caused. More details will be released in their final report.
Utah Fire Info said it was first reported just after 4 p.m. July 24 and quickly spread to more than 200 acres. Four helicopters, two hand crews, three bulldozers and 10 engines were called in.
As of July 25, 114 personnel were assigned to the fire a few miles west of Echo Junction, about halfway between Coalville and Henefer.
So far, no injuries have been reported. The fire has threatened utility lines and one home, but the homeowner was not inside when firefighters attempted to evacuate them.
Siddoway said the county does not anticipate any increased fire restrictions because of the Dikker Hill fire.
The fire danger is “extreme” in the county, the highest warning level. Ahead of the July 24 holiday, the state forester banned fireworks and other explosives in Summit County.
“Things aren't necessarily worse than average but just what we naturally deal with here every year,” Siddoway said. “It's appropriate to use an abundance of caution around some of our dry fuels.”
With Pioneer Day over, fireworks are again prohibited statewide for the rest of the summer.
