Press Release
Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team- Dan Dallas, Incident Commander
Information Center: 385-448-0929
Hours of operation: 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Website: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6101
Email: 2018_utmlf_coalhollowfire@firenet.gov
August 20, 2018, 8 a.m.
Current Situation: High pressure built into the Great Basin area, calming winds for the morning and early afternoon hours on Sunday which allowed firefighters to improve lines and increase containment to 47%. The modest increase in acreage has come largely from planned firing operations. Aircraft support in critical areas, and the removal of fuels through these firing operations, aided in firefighting success. Firefighters are continuing to tie together sections of completed firelines, ahead of an anticipated shift in weather by Monday afternoon.
In Division M, on the northern edge of the fire, containment was increased along much of the Highway 6 corridor along Dairy Fork Road down to the Mill Creek Road. If conditions are favorable today, crews will continue to improve dozer line and conduct aerial firing along the line between Divisions M and Q. In Division Q, reducing fuels along the road through chipping went very well on Sunday. Work will continue today improve the depth of the line along Starvation Road. Particular emphasis will be placed on the small remaining uncontained portion on the northern tip of the division.
In Division R, to the southeast, firefighters worked a small slopover that occurred yesterday and plan to finish boxing it in today with hose lays. Favorable wind direction today should assist in working the remaining uncontained lines in this division. Fire crews in Division T, along the fire’s southern edge were able to engage the fire both directly and indirectly on Sunday and containment lines in this area are looking good.
In the southwest area of the fire, Division X, constructing indirect hand and dozer line is planned to Lake Fork Road. In Division Z, work along the Lake Fork Road continued removing fuels along the road using chippers to reduce downed vegetation. In the northwest, Division J, a helitack crew spent much of the day securing uncontained line and strengthening the line down to the Lake Fork Road. This work will continue into Monday.
Weather: High pressure will move east allowing a southwest flow to pick up behind it. The major concern for Monday will come from a big increase of ridge top winds from the southwest with wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour possible. Gusty southwest winds will start at the ridge top by 10:00 a.m. and the lower valleys by 12:00 p.m. The strong winds will funnel into SW to NE oriented drainages. The added instability will also increase the chance for afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Other fires within the state and in nearby states are contributing to smoke in the area.
Information Briefing: Daily public information briefings are held at the info board at the Fairview Chevron, located at the Junction of Hwy 31 and Hwy 89 at 4 p.m.
NOTE: All national forest closures remain in effect. Closure orders can be found on national forest websites at https://www.fs.usda.gov/mantilasal/ and https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/uwcnf/alerts-notices.
Fire Statistics
Location: 15 miles southeast of Spanish Fork, UT
Start Date: August 4, 2018
Size: 29,750 acres
Total Personnel: 707
Cause: Lightning
Percent Contained: 47%
Resources Include: 6 Type 1 hand crews, 8 Type 2 hand crews, 37 engines, 6 dozers, 12 water tenders, 7 helicopters, 2 fixed wing air tankers, 2 air attack platforms, 3 masticators and overhead/support personnel
Coal Hollow Fire Information
385-448-0929
2018_utmlf_CoalHollowFire@firenet.gov
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6101/