WILDFIRES
Wildfire burning in Beaver County grew 900 acres overnight
Jun 29, 2018, 2:05 PM
MINERSVILLE, Utah – The Black Mountain Fire burning near Minersville in Beaver County has been estimated at 5988 acres as of 1 pm Friday afternoon.
Most of the fire suppression efforts on Day 2 of the fire came from the air.
Several airplanes and tankers have been flying over the fire dropping
water and fire retardant to hit the spots where the fire line was advancing.
Close to 200 firefighters are on the ground digging lines to try and contain the fire.
The plan is to get it to stop moving forward and burn back on itself.
However, for as bad as the fire and smoke looked on Thursday, it appears to be doing better Friday.
That will be a relief to Minersville residents.
The fire is burning roughly 3 miles south of town.
“Today is a much better day. That heavy critical wind that was forecasted is thankfully not materializing. We have much calmer wins today and the fire behavior is showing that,” said Nick Powell, a fire information officer with the Bureau of Land Management.
There was one seasonal cabin in the area where the fire was burning, but firefighters have been able to keep the flames away.
There are also some communications towers on a ridge Beaver Country Emergency Management officials were concerned for, however, the flames have stayed away from that site for the most part.
The area is also where several wildfires have burned in the past.
That has helped to reduce the fuels that could turn the Black Mountain Fire into a bigger concern.
The cause of the fire was from a car that flipped into dry grass, sparking flames that quickly spread.
According to Beaver County Sheriff Cameron Noel, the driver of the car was heading on Highway 130 between Minersville and Enoch when it appears he fell asleep.
That caused him to lose control of the car and flip it over several times when he left the road.
The driver was taken to the hospital but has since been released and is back home in Minersville.
Crews are continuing the fight the fire into Friday evening.
