A wildfire has burned 100 acres near Flaming Gorge Reservoir and forced the evacuation of a campground.
The Sunny Cove Fire, in the Ashley National Forest in Daggett County in northeastern Utah, was sparked by a lightning strike on Monday at about 3:30 p.m., according to fire officials.
The fire burned “actively” until about midnight and slowed into Tuesday, according to a U.S. Forest Service news release. The fire continued slowing, with “a decrease in active flames and a lot more smoke” throughout the day, forest service spokesperson Louis J. Haynes said Tuesday afternoon.
As a precaution, 60 to 70 camping trailers were ordered to leave the nearby Mustang Ridge Campground soon after the fire started. No injuries have been reported, and no structures have been damaged.
Four engines, two helicopters, three hand crews and one bulldozer were battling the blaze as of late Tuesday morning, according to fire officials. Crews were digging fire lines on Tuesday to help stop the spread, according to the Forest Service release.
Haynes said crews would likely need at least a few days to finish “mopping up” and containing the blaze with fire lines before officials would allow campers to return to the area.
“It’d be kind of awful to let people back in,” Haynes said, “just to tell them to leave again.”
Campers and boaters who had to leave vehicles behind at the Mustang Ridge Boat Ramp are asked to call the Daggett County Sheriff’s Office at 435-630-5598 to arrange an escort to retrieve their vehicles.
