A new fire is burning in Uintah County up Dry Fork. According to the Uintah Basin Interagency Fire Center, the Maine Fire is burning on top of the ridge by the Rod and Gun Club. The fire was called in at 4:43pm on Tuesday. Structures were initially threatened but the fire moved and is now burning in pinion and juniper.
The Dollar Ridge Fire continues to threaten the homes of Duchesne County citizens as a new evacuation order has been issued. All residents south of Highway 40 and north of Currant Creek River, including the Big G Convenience Store, should evacuate immediately.
Ashley National Forest has announced that starting July 2nd, fire restrictions are in place. The restrictions include no building fires outside of a fire structure that is provided by the Forest Service within a designated area; no smoking except within an enclosed vehicle or building, developed recreation site, or area cleared of all flammable material; no operating or using any internal or external combustion engine without a spark arresting device in working order; and no cutting, grinding, or welding metal in areas of vegetation.
Wind fueled a fire that began northwest of Craig on Friday. According to the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office, the Divide Fire was reported on June 29th at about 1:50pm near the town of Great Divide. The Sheriff’s Office, BLM, Craig Fire and Rescue, Moffat County Road and Bridge, Memorial Regional Health, and Yampa Valley Electric all responded to the scene.
An accident in Dinosaur National Monument resulted in the death of an 18-year-old woman from Dinosaur, Colorado. According to a press release from Park Ranger Sonya Popelka, the woman was found deceased at the scene of a single vehicle accident along Harpers Corner Road. “The driver, whose name is not yet released, was last seen at approximately 9:00pm on Friday, June 29th,” shares the release.
EOG Resources has withdrawn a significant oil and gas proposal on land in Uintah County that was estimated to be worth over a billion dollars in state royalties. The company is now “reevaluating” the future of those resources. The project, located about 25 miles south of Vernal, was nearing the end of its environmental process when EOG asked the BLM to withdraw their proposal.
As the Dollar Ridge Fire spreads, the Duchesne County Commission has ordered an IMMEDIATE EVACUATION for the following areas: Beginning at the Wasatch-Duchesne County line headed east along the Currant Creek Stream to the Lower Red Creek Road, south on the Lower Red Creek Road to the Strawberry Pinnacles Junction, continuing south from the Strawberry Pinnacles Junction on the Avintaquin Canyon Road to the junction of Horse Ridge Road, south on Horse Ridge Road to the Reservation Ridge Road.
The Dollar Ridge Fire, about 4.5 miles Southeast of Strawberry Reservoir, spread quickly on Sunday into Ashley National Forest, starting in Wasatch County and making its way into Duchesne County. Utah Fire Info announced the new wildfire start of 20 acres burning in timber on private property in the late afternoon.