After fighting nearly a dozen wildfires at the start of the week, fire crews will get some help from the weather, which previously hindered them with dry conditions and heavy winds.
Monsoon moisture moved into southern Utah on Tuesday and started to make its way upward across most of the state Wednesday, bringing some relief in the form of rain showers. Some of the storms will produce gusty winds and possible lightning.
Storms will be primarily high-based, resulting in gusty outflow winds, but isolated flash flooding is possible over eastern Utah, according to the National Weather Service.
Earlier in the week, fire crews managed to fully contain and put out two of the recent wildfires: the Turkey Farm Fire and Pole Canyon Fire, which burned 12,000 and 488 acres, respectively.
Here's an update on the other wildfires that crews continue to fight:
• The Strawberry Fire, a lightning-caused fire sparked on Monday at Bowers Flat (north of Mammoth Creek) in Kane County, was 15% contained by Tuesday night.
• The Dennis Hill Fire, burning near Park Valley, was estimated at 2,608 acres with 30% containment on Wednesday morning.
• The Veyo West Fire, near the town of Veyo in Washington County, was 95% contained as of Tuesday, according to Utah Wildfire Info.
• The Big Summit Fire in Iron County along the Nevada-Utah border was 62% contained by firefighters battling the 8,461 acre blaze on Tuesday.
• The Cottonwood Trail Fire, which was sparked by a blown tire on Sunday, is now 90% contained. The blaze burned through 1,631 acres in Washington County.
• Utah Fire Info has not updated several other fires. The most recent information (posted Monday) had the Big Hollow Fire at 438 acres and 95% containment; the Allen Fire at 40 acres and 90% containment; the Split Fire at 18 acres and no containment; and the Howell Peak Fire at 400 acres, with no information about contaiment.
