Parley’s Canyon Fire evacuations in place until Tuesday, for now

"We are sticking with Tuesday morning as a timeline on the evacuation," the Summit County Sheriff's Office said in a post. Photo: Summit County Sheriff’s Office

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — Sierra Hellstrom, public information officer with the Northern Utah Interagency Fire Center (NUIFC) Type 3 Team, said the agency is currently “not confident” about the Parley’s Canyon Fire’s progress in the Summit Park area due to a lack of containment.

As of Sunday afternoon, the fire is 620 acres and 0% contained.

The closest structure is less than a mile away from the blaze, according to the Park City Fire District.

Local evacuation restrictions will not be lifted until officials have containment in the area and are confident the fire won’t progress.

“As soon as they’re confident they have containment we will be able to lift the evacuation orders,” the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said in a post. “For now, we are sticking with Tuesday morning as a timeline on the evacuation. We hope to have good news before then.”

 

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Hellstrom emphasized that it is their top priority to get residents back to their homes.

The 120 personnel fighting the blaze mostly derive from local fire departments, including agencies from northern Utah and the Cedar City Hotshots. However, tomorrow a Type 2 Team will take over, which will pull in crews from all over the Great Basin — which includes Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, and Arizona.

The Park City Ice Arena is the designated Incident Command Post (ICP). Basin Recreation said to avoid the area around the arena the next few days and to find an alternative route to the Round Valley trails.

The investigation regarding the catalytic converter car that started the fire is still under investigation, said Hellstrom. They will likely put out a public request for information soon.

She said a partial lift of restrictions is possible, such as allowing Pinebrook residents to return but not Summit Park. As of Sunday afternoon, all evacuation restrictions remain in place for the following areas: Summit Park, Pine Brook, Lambs Canyon & Mill Creek. Estimated at 6000-8000 homes.

An evacuation shelter has been set up at Park City High School.

Businesses in lower Pinebrook are open. Also, on Sunday morning, the Summit County Sheriff said that residents can make quick trips to their homes to retrieve belongings after signing in with deputies.

The Peaks Hotel is offering discounted rooms for evacuees, storage units are available for evacuees in Kamas for a week and Red Banjo Pizza will feed those who have been displaced by the fire. The Park City Education Foundation (PCEF) expressed their gratitude to the Park City High School for sheltering those who may need on social media.