By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
A lightening-caused fire is burning outside of Eureka
and near Goshen.
The fire began on Sunday but continued to burn
out-of-control on Monday after threatening several homes in
the Goshen area.
"We are in the middle of the fire season," Uinta
National Forest spokeswoman Loyal Clark said.
The wet spring and continued drought conditions of the
summer have created a tinder box just waiting for something
to ignite the dry plant fuels.
"We are starting to suffer from a shortage of
resources. We are starting to compete for resources
throughout the West," she said.
The fire threatened several homes in the area and, in
one instance, crews started a back-fire to burn potential
fuel for the advancing blaze before the flames could burn
the home.
The effort was successful.
Fire fighting crews were also keeping their eyes on
nearby power lines. Power lines running through the area, if
destroyed, would compromise the power needed by several
large cities in the Western states.
After 1 p.m. Sunday, the Northern Utah Interagency
Fire Center sent crews to Pinon Canyon in the Tintic
Mountains, about 5 miles east of Eureka, burning about 300
acres.
"There is no estimated time of containment," said fire
information officer Ali Knutson.
Seventy-five people were on scene, including crews
taken off the Hen fire on Lake Mountain that was fully
contained Saturday night.
Richfield Interagency Fire Center logistics
coordinator Karen Feary said there were 21 new fires in
central Utah Sunday, started by lightning.
Elsewhere throughout Utah, crews continue battling
blazes that were started by lightning last weekend. Other
blazes in southern Utah will not be fully extinguished until
the first snowfall.
As many as 20 new fire starts have been reported on
some days at the Moab center this fire season.
In mid-July, the Black Rock fire in the Tintic
Mountains between Vernon and Eureka burned more than
500-acres, according to BLM fire information officer Teresa
Rigby. That fire was also caused by lightning.
"The Tintics in the area of the fire are used heavily
by hunters, campers and off-road enthusiasts," she said.
Those who explore the burned area may unwittingly
spread weed seeds into areas where new growth from those
seeds could choke out valuable vegetation. She advises
staying out of the burn area for a while.
At least four, 20-person hand crews, three helicopters
and one airtanker were helping to control the Black Rock
fire Saturday.
According to a recent report from the Utah Interagency
Fire Information Center, at least 15 large wildfires have
burned more than 76,000 acres&emdash;eight of those fires
were human-caused, seven started by lightning. The Bulldog
fire, believed to be the largest at almost 32,000 acres
burned, was caused by an ATV. The second largest, called the
Apex fire near St. George, which burned about 30,000 acres,
was started by someone playing with matches.
On Saturday, the BLM's Web site recorded 19 total
wildfires this year, not including the new Black Rock fire
and the three near Moab.
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