Hyrum: Brush fire closes Blacksmith Fork Canyon
September 27th, 2015 Posted in OpinionBy Erin West
HYRUM — A brush fire, likely caused by a fallen power line, started around 5:20 p.m. in Blacksmith Fork Canyon Friday evening.
“It’s dry grass so it’s going to go up there pretty crazy,” said Matt Burgess, a Division of Wildlife Resource officer.
The fire began on the north side of milepost 19 of State Road 101 and quickly spread to the east.
“It was likely a telephone pole that sparked,” said Deputy Merkley, who responded to the fire. “It was down on the ground when I got here. That’s why we’ve shut everything down to keep people from coming in contact with it.”
A campground near the source of the fire was evacuated and the road has been closed off until it is extinguished.
Ron Vincent was traveling up the canyon and was stopped from his four-wheeling trip near Hardware Ranch.
“That’s pretty treacherous terrain,” he said, “and it’s a steep hill so those firefighters have got to be working hard.”
The size of the fire was estimated around 15 to 20 acres and Merkley believes the fire will burn through the night.
“[Travelers] always get mad for us not letting them up,” he said, “but it’s better than having someone go up and get hurt.”
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