Rocky Canyon Fire reaches 23% containment; Morgan County evacuees allowed home

A Utah National Guard Black Hawk helicopter carries a water bucket over the Rocky Canyon Fire as a firefighter works below. Photo: Utah Fire Info // Samuel P Barlow Jr

MORGAN COUNTY, Utah — The Rocky Canyon Fire is now 23% contained at 13,601 acres, and residents evacuated along Highway 66 from Whites Crossing to East Canyon Dam were allowed to return home Tuesday morning, officials said.

Morgan County Emergency Management said evacuees could return as of 9 a.m. Highway 66 remains closed at the junction with Morgan Valley Drive to all but local traffic. East Canyon State Park remains closed, as does Highway 65 from East Canyon down to West Henefer Road.

In Summit County, evacuation orders remain in place for Henefer. The area west of Main Street between East Canyon Road and South Henefer Road is still in “Go” status, along with the zone from the Summit County line at Hog Back Summit to West Henefer Road and both sides of South Henefer Road.

The fire was its most active overnight since it started, and conditions were not favorable for planned firing operations. Instead, night crews mopped up hotspots from Monday’s high winds, an effort officials called extremely successful. Outflow winds near Henefer pushed the fire onto itself, slowing progression to the north, and increased humidity helped moderate fire behavior.

Containment was reached along the SR-66 corridor from Hogsback toward Morgan, which is holding strong. Officials credited the strategic firing operations conducted two days ago with saving the values at risk in the area.

The northeast corner closest to Henefer is looking very good, officials said, and crews will continue going direct to hold the stringer that pushed toward the community. On the southeast corner, crews held the perimeter near Franklin Canyon and may initiate firing operations there to minimize growth toward the I-80/I-84 junction and Coalville.

Residents may see more crew activity along the ridgetops on the fire’s north end in Morgan County as firefighters work areas previously inaccessible to ground crews. Aviation continues to support crews by cooling the fire’s edge.

Cloud cover is expected to cool the fire area Tuesday, but gusty, erratic winds could again make fire behavior less predictable.

Additional information is available at summitcounty.info/emergency and Utah Fire Info.