Yellow Lake Fire subdued as snow falls in Uintas

A view of the Duchesne North Fork area in the Yellow Lake Fire. Photo: UWC National Forest

After three weeks, Mother Nature finally brings relief to the human-caused fire burning in Utah's Uinta-Wasatch Cache National Forest

FRANCIS, Utah — A snowstorm brought relief to the Yellow Lake Fire on Thursday night into Friday. Between four and 10 inches of snow fell over an area that has been burning for nearly three weeks.

Officials also announced that closure areas were reduced in both the Ashley National Forest and the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest as of 6:30 a.m. Those updates have been posted on their respective Facebook pages.

“The fire area is experiencing rain and snow this morning. About one inch of rain has fallen at lower elevations, while higher elevations, such as Bald Mountain Pass on Mirror Lake Highway (SR150), have received six inches of snow,” an official update read Friday.

A winter storm warning is in effect through midnight, with temperatures expected to drop well below freezing.

Due to the weather and reduced fire behavior, fire resources are also being released this afternoon. 632 personnel remain, and officials said the remaining crews are using the downtime to focus on tool maintenance and training. Crews will also evaluate what has worked well, what could have been improved, and lessons learned—standard practice across all levels of incident management.

This morning, some firefighters visited Duchesne Elementary School to thank students for the thoughtful cards they sent to the fire crews.

On Sunday, management of the fire will transition back to a local Type 3 team led by personnel from the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Ashley National Forests.

Yellow Lake Fire Facts

Size at time of update:
– 33,038 acres
– Containment: 30%
– Personnel: 632

Start:
– Date: Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024
– Cause: Human-caused (under investigation)
– Location: 10 miles southeast of Francis, Utah

Community Meetings:
– Kamas Middle School Auditorium: Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
– Tabiona School Gymnasium: Sunday at 4:00 p.m.

These meetings will discuss the transition and updates regarding fire area rehabilitation and closures.