Traffic camera keeps recording while surrounded by fire

Utah traffic camera fire swept over
The Utah DOT camera at milepost 122 continued to transmit while it was engulfed by a wildfire. Screenshot from the video below.

A highway traffic camera kept transmitting as the Milepost 122 fire swept over the site. It happened 10 miles north of Beaver, Utah on August 22 as the Milepost 122 Fire burned across Interstate 15.

The fire burned about 1,200 acres and closed the Interstate for a while.

Utah milepost 122 wildfire
Milepost 122 fire. Photo credit: Stephanie Schenck.

Shelter Pass Fire burns thousands of acres west of Great Salt Lake

3-D map Shelter Pass Fire Great Salt Lake
3-D map showing the location of the Shelter Pass Fire in the Hogup Mountains west of Great Salt Lake, at 2:24 a.m. MDT August 7, 2019.

(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.

map Shelter Pass Fire Great Salt Lake
Map showing the location of the Shelter Pass Fire in the Hogup Mountains west of Great Salt Lake, at 2:24 a.m. MDT August 7, 2019.
Three DC-10 Air Tankers
File photo of three DC-10 Air Tankers at Albuquerque, May 3, 2019: Tankers 910, 911, and 914. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

Firefighters stop wildfire at Springville, UT after burning 167 acres

Round Fire Utah
Round Peak Fire east of Springville, Utah.

A wildfire just east of Springville, Utah (see the map below) burned 167 acres before it was stopped by firefighters yesterday. At Wildfire Today we don’t often devote an article to a fire this size, but the Round Peak Fire is notable in two ways. One, that the U.S. Forest Service employed a different strategy from what they used last summer on the Bald Mountain and Pole Creek Fires about 8 miles to the south. Those fires were initially managed to accomplish resource management objectives. In other words, they were not suppressed, just herded around. As the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest inadequately considered fuel moistures, drought, and the weather forecast, the two fires merged and burned over 120,000 acres forcing evacuations of communities.

But the Round Peak fire, ignited by a campfire at 9:30 p.m. July 15, was suppressed. The resources the Forest Service used included 4 hand crews, 2 helicopters, 4 Single Engine Air Tankers, 1 large air tanker (MD-87), and 1 Very Large Air Tanker (DC-10).

In the video below it is difficult to determine what type of fixed wing aircraft it is, but it appears to be a DC-10, especially considering the length of the drop.

In addition to the Forest Service aggressively attacking this new fire, another reason we are writing about this fire is that numerous photos of the fire are available, supplied by Utah Fire Info and the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.

map Round Peak Fire
Map showing the location of the Round Peak Fire east of Springville, Utah. Wildfire Today.
Round Fire air tanker drop Utah
A DC-10 drops through the smoke on the Round Peak Fire east of Springville, Utah.
MD-87 drops on the Round Peak Fire
An MD-87 drops on the Round Peak Fire east of Springville, Utah. Photo by Jocelyn Marie Cooley.
Round Fire air tanker drop Utah
A Single Engine Air Tanker drops on the Round Peak Fire east of Springville, Utah.
helicopter Round Fire Utah
A helicopter with a water bucket maneuvers over the Round Fire east of Springville, Utah. Two Single Engine Air Tankers are in the background..
Round Peak Fire air tanker drop Utah
A DC-10 drops on the Round Peak Fire east of Springville, Utah.