The Pole Creek Fire spread greatly overnight, rising up to over 53,800 acres as of early Friday morning. According to fire officials that are working on-scene, this staggering acreage shows that the fire succeeded in spreading nearly 34,000 acres in the course of a night.
As of reports on Friday, the fire is contained 2%. While US-6 was temporarily closed and then re-opened, US-89 is still facing many delays and closures. According to the Utah Department of Transportation, the delays are more than 15 minutes at a time and are largely affecting the southbound lane.
Another Utah County fire, the Bald Mountain Fire, has burned over 14,000 acres and is coming dangerously close to combining with the Pole Creek Fire. Due to the blazes, there are current evacuations in affect for nearby cities as well as the area of Covered Bridge located in the Spanish Fork Canyon.
Firefighters are working diligently to contain the fires and it was reported that a Type 1 Team is being brought in to assist in the effort.