Fire crews are keeping the Uintah Fire from growing beyond its 619 acres despite gusty morning winds. Kim Osborn is the information officer for the Weber Canyon fire. She says ground crews continue to work with air support to hold fire lines ahead of expected afternoon winds.
“The watch-out time for firefighters, when things are going to start happening, it’s going to be this afternoon. And so yes, we’re preparing for that and what might happen.”
Osborn says preparations overnight for the morning gusty winds has been paying off.
“We will have 15-plus crews working three different areas of the fire using our aviation resources to drop water in those hot spots.
But Osborn says some residents have refused to evacuate.
“Yeah, there were several people that were actually there when the fire was ripping through and very dangerous. They have no idea the potential of what could have happened.”
Having an area around a residence that’s been cleared of brush and trees, known as a “defensible space” has been a key factor in some home surviving the onslaught of flames, says Osborn.
“It is very serious when you have all that oak brush right up against your house. We could have more homes burnt possibly, there were some that had a good defensible space around them.”
Osborn says Highway 89 and I-84 are open but they are only allowing those who evacuated to return to their homes for medications and to take care of pets.
She urges residents to remember that the fire season is far from over and to use extra caution with any outdoor fires. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the blaze.
