Yellow Lake Fire becomes this year’s largest Utah fire
Oct 10, 2024, 6:00 PM | Updated: Oct 11, 2024, 4:17 pm
The Yellow Lake Fire in the Uinta mountains as it burned through the fall forestry on Sept. 29, 2024. (Courtesy Jenn Crane)
(Courtesy Jenn Crane)
HANNA, Duchesne County — The Yellow Lake Fire has crossed a threshold and become the largest in the state for the 2024 fire season. As of Friday, Oct. 11, the human-caused fire burning in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest has burned 21,000 acres.
A new advisory was issued in the the Yellow Lake Fire area after a weather pattern posed a risk of the fire moving Thursday.
Duchesne County Fire organized a town hall meeting at Tabiona High School Thursday at 6:00 p.m. to address concerns from the community.
As of Thursday, Oct. 10, the North and West forks of the Duchesne River and the Granddaddy Lakes area were under a mandatory evacuation order. Residents in Hanna were asked to pack bags and be ready for evacuation orders, but those were not in place yet. Area closures in the national forest grew extensively Friday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Image provided by U.S. Forest Service, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.
According to Sgt. Felicia Sotelo with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the fire was likely to trigger a closure and evacuation of the north side of Highway 150, also known as Mirror Lake Highway.
On Friday, the campgrounds along the highway within the closure of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache were officially asked to evacuate under a new closure. According to a Facebook post from the Summit County Search and Rescue, rescue units were “inbound to evacuate recreationists on the north side of Mirror Lake Highway between Yellow Pine & the Highline Trail.”
“Hunters and recreationists planning to camp or visit the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest on the north side of Mirror Lake Highway between Slate Creek (Yellow Pine Trailhead) and the Highlight Trail should use extreme caution,” she said.
The fire has crossed the threshold and become the largest in the state for the 2024 fire season, burning a significant 21,000 acres. The fire was determined to be human-caused.
The Utah Department of Natural Resources said Thursday the fire was 21% contained.
Related:
