The human-caused Yellow Lake Fire sparked in eastern Wasatch County on Sept. 28. Fire crews have reached 21% containment.
Jeff Armstrong with the U.S. Forest Service said Saturday’s lower temperatures and decreased winds are helping crews fight the blaze.
“So we're hoping to take advantage of that and get in there and make some good progress on this fire,” he said.
Armstrong said the primary focus is to make sure the public and their homes are safe. However, conditions remain a challenge with dead timber in the affected forests.
“When the fire gets into that dead timber, it can run for a little bit. And then, of course, the topography makes it difficult to get in there quickly for a direct suppression tactic,” he said.
Crews are continuing to increase containment lines to the north and east.
Evacuations and closures remain in effect.
Summit County Emergency Management issued new mandatory evacuations for the Yellow Lake Fire Thursday night.
The evacuation is for the area north of Mirror Lake Highway between the Yellow Pine Trailhead at Mile Marker 6 and the Highline Trail at Mile Marker 35. The area from Ashley National Forest to the north of Tabiona is also closed.
All recreation activities, campgrounds, trails and parking lots are prohibited and closed in the area until Dec. 31.
Mirror Lake Highway is open while Highway 35 remains closed.
The Grandaddy Lakes area of Ashley National Forest has been evacuated. The town of Hanna in Duchesne County is under a “set” order and must be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.
