This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah County wildfire that blackened more 1,680 acres west of Utah Lake was 80 percent contained by Friday night.
Interagency Fire Center spokeswoman Kim Osborne said by 9 p.m. crews were wrapped up for the evening and would continue to work on smoldering areas Saturday morning.
Some of the firefighters are expected to be released by the end of the shift Saturday, depending on how the day goes, Osborne said.
About 120 firefighters Friday worked on cutting the fire containment lines needed around the blaze — a task made more grueling by temperatures in the high 80s and dry conditions on the ground.
The AR Fire was believed to have been sparked about 4:45 p.m. Thursday by target shooters. The flames quickly moved through lowland grass and brush before climbing Lake Mountain and adjacent slopes and burning into stands of pinyon and juniper, roughly midway between Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain.
No homes or structures had been damaged and no firefighter injuries had been reported. However, heavy smoke wafted over nearby Highway 68, contributing to two minor-injury accidents late Thursday.
On Friday, the Utah County Sheriff's Office closed an area stretching from just south of Utah Lake's Pelican Point to north of Clyde Knoll, Osborne said.
Meanwhile, crews hoped this weekend to declare fully contained a 6,100-acre wildfire spanning the southeastern Utah-Colorado border. The 229-acre Clay Pit Fire, near Utah Lake's Pelican Point, was contained as of Thursday evening.
Tribune reporter Roxana Orellana contributed to this story.