New mapping data from the U.S. Forest Service show the fire had grown to 15,891 acres as of Sunday. It is 7% contained.
In a news release, the forest service said the fire grew rapidly Saturday due to wind gusts of up to 40 mph throughout the day.
Nikki Champion from the Northern Utah Type 3 Fire Management Team told KPCW Saturday the areas along the North and West forks of the Duchesne River were placed under an active evacuation order.
“Both the West and the North fork need to be evacuated immediately, mainly due to a threat of property and life and then campers within the recreational area of Granddaddy Lakes, which is in the Ashley National Forest, but still involved with the fire, have entered a ready status, meaning that they need to prepare to potentially evacuate,” she said.
Hanna, a town in Duchesne County, was added to the list of communities under a "ready" order to prepare for evacuation Sunday.
Winds decreased Sunday as did the relative humidity. The fire is still expected to grow but the weather conditions were expected to give firefighters a better chance of securing the fire's perimeter, the agency said.
The Yellow Lake Fire started in eastern Wasatch County on Sept. 28. Investigators have not confirmed details about how the fire sparked, only that it was human-caused.
The fire is burning south and parallel to Mirror Lake Highway but is not impacting the area. It’s also burning east of Mill Hollow Reservoir on the Unita-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.
The fire expanded Friday as winds blew embers north of Highway 35 and the pipeline, igniting more of the forest. It then spread toward Soapstone Pass and east toward Rhodes Canyon. Those same conditions shifted the fire again on Saturday.
Champion has said crews are primarily focused on safety.
“Firefighter safety, just with how fast conditions are changing, remains the No. 1 safety, as well as public safety, we want to try to protect as many personnel, public members and infrastructure as possible,” she said.
As of Sunday, 459 crew members were working on suppression efforts, specifically on preventing the fire from moving into the West Fork of the Duchesne drainage, farther north into Soapstone Basin, west toward Mill Hollow and east toward the North Fork of Duchesne.
Portions of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Ashley National Forests affected by the fire are closed. Highway 35 will remain closed until fire activity decreases and the road can be cleared of debris.
Fire officials said the YMCA camp and ranger station are safe. Crews installed sprinklers and a network of hoses that can spread water over a large area. The Piuta girls camps and other recreation structures have also been treated with fire retardant.
Click here for the latest updates on the Yellow Lake Fire.
