UPDATE: East Myton and North River fires have merged, oil and power infrastructure threatened
Mar 29, 2021, 6:14 PM | Updated: 7:05 pm
(Shelby Huffman)
MYTON, UT — Utah fire officials report that two fires burning in eastern Utah’s Duchesne County have merged into one larger fire.
#EastMyton and #NorthRiver fires have merged. 10 structures threatened. Oil and Power infrastructure threatened. pic.twitter.com/q3HySuyH7S
— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) March 30, 2021
Utah Fire Info also reports ten structures are currently threatened, including oil and power infrastructure. AT the time of publication, they had not specified which oil and power structures may be threatened.
PREVIOUS REPORTING
MYTON, UT — Two fires were burning in Duchesne and Uintah counties on Monday afternoon.
Both of the fires are believed to have been caused by humans according to Mike Eriksson with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. By 6 p.m. on Monday there was no estimate as to when the fires would be contained.
East Myton Fire
The East Myton Fire is reportedly burning on Ouray Ute sovereign land in Duchesne County. This fire has burned more than 200 acres and according to officials has threatened structures.
At the time of publication, there was no information detailing which structures were threatened and the fire was at 10% containment.
North River Fire
The North River Fire began in Duchesne County and then moved east along a river to Uintah County where it is now burning in an area that Eriksson called “tribal land.” This fire is has burned between 50 and 60 acres according to officials.
The #EastMyton fire in Duchesne county is 200+ acres and 10% contained. Structures threatened. 3 Tribal and 1 Private residence have been evacuated. Fuel type is sagebrush and grass. 40 mph winds. The #Northriver fire is 50-60 acres. Both fires human caused under investigation
— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) March 29, 2021
Commander Nathan Robinson with State Forestry and Fire told KSL that this fire began on Sunday and was contained to 21 acres. But high winds on Monday fanned the flames and the fire reignited.
Multiple agencies involved in response
Multiple agencies responded to these early season fires, including Uintah and Duchesne Counties, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Utah state authorities.
This story is ongoing and will be updated as new information becomes available.