(Originally published at 3 p.m. MDT August 7, 2019)
The Shelter Pass Fire, believed to have started from lightning on Sunday, was very active Wednesday, attracting the attention at various times of two DC-10 Very Large Air Tankers, T-910 and T-911, flying out of Pocatallo, Idaho. The blaze is west of the north end of Great Salt Lake and 77 miles northwest of Salt Lake City. (see map)
The strategy is to fully suppress the fire, but with only 6 engines, 1 helicopter, and no hand crews assigned as of Tuesday night, that will be difficult until forces arrive in much greater numbers.
Wednesday afternoon the Great Basin Coordination Center said the fire had burned 8,500 acres, an increase of 7,900 acres over the size reported Tuesday evening.
As this is written at 3 p.m. MDT Wednesday, Tanker 910, a DC-10, is maneuvering over the Shelter Pass Fire preparing to drop about 9,000 gallons of fire retardant.
