This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Crews were steadily closing containment lines around Utah wildfires Wednesday, even as they warily watched the skies for thunderstorms, dry lightning and gusty winds forecast to arrive as the week ends.
The Broad Mouth Fire, which flared Aug. 3 near the Box Elder County town of Plymouth, was 61 percent contained. It had burned 20,619 acres of timber and rangelands near the Utah-Idaho border as of Wednesday afternoon.
Fire Information Officer Joan Hammer said the fire, no longer threatening ranches or other structures, had not grown appreciably for several days. A reduced contingent of about 160 firefighters worked to close lines around the blaze, aided by fire retardant- and water-laden aircraft.
However, the Broad Mouth Fire was within the area of northwestern Utah included in a Red Flag Warning extending into early Thursday morning. Gusty winds, combined with existing dry conditions and the coming thunderstorms, elevated the risk for new fires, and rapid growth of existing ones.
Crews battling the week-old Summit County Box Canyon Fire, 12 miles east of Oakley, also were cut back on Wednesday to just 62 personnel. Fire Information Officer Annette Disert said the blaze was 10 percent contained, but had grown little this week; it was estimated at 2,468 acres.
The Box Canyon Fire continued to smolder in conifer, aspen and swaths of grass along the steep, rocky terrain of Erickson Basin, Smith and Morehouse canyons and the Hells Kitchen area.
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