Photo courtesy of the United States Forest Service
US Forest Service Press Release
HUNTINGTON, Utah, July 30 – The Mammoth Fire grew to 230 acres Monday, driven by hot, dry, breezy conditions in the afternoon. It is burning near Huntington Reservoir in areas of dead and down spruce in an area previously planned for prescribed burning. Crews have established a secure line on the southeast of the fire to keep it burning to the northwest among dead spruce and deadfall timber. There are no closure orders or evacuations for the area.
A cooling trend with some rain is expected beginning this afternoon and continuing through Wednesday. The high-elevation fire was reported July 24 and was caused by lightning.
The fire is directly bordered by an earlier, closed timber sale adjacent to the south shore of Huntington Reservoir and a drainage with a flowing stream to the east. Aspen and grass meadows are interspersed among the decadent timber stands and there are snowbanks on nearby ridges. The fire is about 29 miles northwest of Huntington, Utah and just southwest of the Miller Flat Junction with SR-31. There are about 30 crew members on the fire at this time.
There are two more fires burning on the Manti-La Sal National Forest, the Peavine Canyon Fire near Blanding and the Poison Canyon fire near Monticello. Both were ignited by lightning and continue to burn as managed fires.
Although there are no fire restrictions on the National Forest at this time, visitors are asked to use caution when building fires. Never build a fire under a tree or in vegetation, never leave a fire unattended and always be sure it is dead out. Fireworks are never allowed on the forest.
To receive updates on fires on the Manti-La Sal National Forest, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/mantilasal/ and sign up under Stay Connected!