Henefer-area locals were allowed to return home Thursday afternoon, Aug. 13, while the fight against the Rocky Canyon Fire continues.
“Just because evacuations have been lifted, this is not an invitation to come into the fire area,” said Jason Bullough, who’s part of the U.S. Forest Service team responding to the Rocky Canyon Fire.
At a community meeting Thursday evening, Bullough said when residents enter the closed area, it endangers firefighters and slows operations.
“We’ve had to divert several tanker drops over the last couple days because of community members that are in there,” he said. “So, let’s just please stay out of there. I can’t emphasize enough that we are going to be in there for a while.”
The wildfire has burned nearly 16,000 acres in Summit and Morgan counties since it sparked Aug. 7. It is 40% contained as of Friday morning.
The fire has been burning very hot, and Bullough said it will likely require weeks of work.
Fire incident manager Sierra Hellstrom said ground crews are imperative to extinguish a wildfire.
“Water cools a fire, and retardant slows a fire,” she said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Aug. 13. “But similar to your campfire, if you just pour some water on a big, flaming fire, it’s not going to put it out – it’s that drowning and stirring and drowning and stirring that puts fire out, and so that’s what we’re doing right now.”
About 300 people have been fighting the Rocky Canyon Fire.
Henefer residents are still at the “set” level of the “Ready, Set, Go” evacuation system, meaning they should have their vehicles packed with the essentials in case they need to leave at a moment’s notice.
The north end of East Canyon State Park in Morgan County remained evacuated as of Friday. The area is inaccessible because of road closures.
