A public meeting was hosted at the Carbon County Event Center on Tuesday evening to present an update to the community on the Coal Hollow fire and to give those that wished to an opportunity to ask questions and voice opinions.
The packed crowd listened to presentations by various officials and first responders that have been working tirelessly to contain the blaze. Maps were dispersed throughout the room as well as on a projector for those those in attendance to physically view the fire impact.
Though the fire is large, the main concentration and point of spreading has been Highway 6, where most of the smoke in Carbon County is coming from. With a necessary closure of the highway, a detour has been mandatory. On Monday, a large thunderstorm settled over the fire with wind pushing it in many directions.
Starvation Canyon is where the fire has been stopped and it is believed that it can be stayed on Starvation Road; it has been stopped in the area for about two days. An employee of the fire management team is working with local air agencies and the department of health to ensure that questions are answered on the issue of the smoke.
Many of the firefighters have been with the fire since day one, which was Aug. 4. The fire was started due to a lighting strike and was responded to immediately. Interesting winds and difficult weather patterns have overwhelmed local resources. At the point of the fire spreading greatly, Type 2 Incident Management was called in on Aug. 7.
The announcement of Highway 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon reopening was also made during the meeting, with the caution that there will be a 45-mile-per-hour speed limit that will be strongly enforced by patrol officers. The community and local businesses were thanked for treating fire personnel so well during this time. At the time of the meeting, it was announced that though the containment was previously at 4%, it was changed to 2% due to growth. Although the containment percent was lowered, it was anticipated that the number will rise quickly.
