(UPDATED at 4:20 p.m. MDT, August 16, 2013)
Fire managers on the Patch Springs fire southwest of Salt Lake City were notified this morning they would be receiving aircraft no longer needed on the Rockport Fire north of Park City, Utah.
The BLM reported that the Tooele County Sheriff’s department evacuated the town of Terra and the BLM Clover Springs Campground on Highway 199 Friday afternoon. The fire is now on the south side of the highway.
The latest acreage number provided by the BLM is 14,000 acres. An order has been placed for Dunford’s Type 2 Incident Management Team.
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(UPDATED at 6:50 p.m. MDT, August 15, 2013)
The Patch Springs Fire has been active today, spreading at least two to three miles to the north and moving closer to the town of Terra on the south. By late afternoon officials closed Highway 199 to help provide a better environment for firefighters working in the area. “Precautionary evacuations” are underway for the Willow Community northeast of Terra.
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(Originally published at 11:09 a.m. MDT, August 15, 2013)
The 13,000-acre Patch Springs Fire, started from lightning on August 10, has grown to within a mile of the outskirts of Terra, Utah, which is just south of the fire. The Terra Fire Chief and the Patch Springs Incident Commander have set trigger points for the possible evacuation of the town and the potential closure of Highway 199 (Johnson’s Pass). Today crews, a dozer, and aircraft will be reinforcing a fire line around the community.
The north end of the fire is burning in Antelope Canyon, 10 miles from the Tooele Army Depot, a Superfund hazardous materials site with 902 ammunition storage igloos.
The Patch Springs Fire is being suppressed by 12 engines, 3 handcrews, a water tender, 2 helicopters, a dozer and air attack, for a total of 149 personnel.
