Fire crews hope for rain as Yellow Lake Fire grows to 31,007 acres

Yellow Lake Fire, Oct. 13 2024 Photo: TownLift

FRANCIS, Utah – Now burning at 31,007 acres, the Yellow Lake Fire made a push Sunday into a stand of thick mixed conifer trees as winds picked up out of the southwest, fire officials reported Monday.

“It made a pretty good push. We kept flanking it. We want to keep it away from impacting Highway 150 as much as possible. So we flanked it. We’re using dozers and aircraft to keep it in check,” Dennis Burns, a fire behavior analyst for the California Interagency Incident Team 2 said in an operations update Monday.

Yellow Lake Fire Public Meeting Tonight: A public meeting will take place at 6 p.m. tonight at the Tabiona School gym to provide an update on the Yellow Lake Fire. The meeting will be live-streamed on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Ashley National Forest Facebook pages.

Fire behavior intensifies

• On Sunday afternoon, southern winds fanned the fire near Iron Mine Road, igniting pockets of concentrated beetle-kill timber.
• The fire hasn’t crossed Iron Mine Road, but Quarter-mile spotting has been reported.

Key areas spared — for now

• Air operations were deployed as the fire reached dense aspen and mixed conifer stands.
• The Soapstone Summer Homes along Mirror Lake Highway remain unaffected.
• Dozers are working to connect fire lines between Iron Mine Road and Soapstone Road.

East side challenges

• Fire activity picked up but slowed as shaded areas reduced intensity.
• Firefighters are battling “re-burn potential,” where dead timber reignites.
• Moderate torching of dead trees (snags) has been observed nightly.

Weather outlook

• Above-normal temperatures are expected through Wednesday, continuing to dry out fuels.
• A cold front arriving Thursday could bring freezing temps and precipitation, offering potential relief.

All evacuation orders and closures remain in effect.