DUCHESNE COUNTY, Utah-As day 3 of the Dollar Ridge Fire commences, authorities have downgraded the burned acreage from 30,000 acres to 19,000 acres. This was confirmed during a Tuesday morning meeting at G’s Gas Station in Fruitland after more accurate mapping of the fire was done, per Brittany Johnson of ABC 4 Utah of Salt Lake City.
During the Monday morning briefing, Johnson reported, Duchesne County Sheriff David Boren briefed leaders of Rohrer’s Great Basin Type II team actions taken by local officials.
Per Ben Winslow of Fox 13 in Salt Lake City, Utah Governor Gary Herbert has confirmed he will travel to eastern Utah to assess the damage from the fire.
Another red flag warning exists in the fire area as there may be wind gusts up to 40 mph in the region and a possibility of micro burst winds, typical in the monsoonal type of year, may also occur.
As the morning progresses, Duchesne County officials insist 30,000 acres is more accurate than 19,000 acres and news from KSL-TV’s Caitlin Burchhill confirms that this has been upgraded to a Type 1 fire.
This means, Burchhill confirms, that more resources are coming in to assist with the blaze. This includes employing bigger helicopters.
A report from Ginna Roe of KUTV 2 News in Salt Lake City confirms evacuations are currently in place along the south side of U.S. Highway 40 from mile marker 61 to mile marker 74.
At 8:42 am MDT, Utah Wildfire confirmed that U.S. Highway 40 is currently open but fire vehicles and reduced visibility still call for great caution in the area at this time.
Winslow also reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Region 8 (which covers Utah) is now offering assistance to battle the fire.
Around 12:15 pm MDT, Utah Governor Gary Herbert will be available to address the public concerning this fire at the Duchesne County Fairgrounds in Duchesne.
Burchhill later reported that the gusts are expected to reach 40 miles per hour Tuesday afternoon which will make it even more difficult to battle the blaze.
At his press conference, Herbert commanded everyone to stay out of evacuation zones and, as ABC 4 Utah’s Andrew Reeser and KSL-TV’s Shara Park reported, 92 percent of fires in Utah this year have been human-caused, Herbert confirmed.
The Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office has also commissioned a new evacuation order at the Wasatch County/Duchesne County line headed eastward along the Currant Creek stream to the Lower Red Creek Road.
This is south on the Lower Red Creed Road to the Strawberry Pinnacles Junction and continuing southward from there on the Avintaquin Canyon Road to the Junction of Horse Ridge Road and south from there to the Reservation Ridge Road.
The violation of this results in up to a six-month penalty in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. The statement also confirms any violations of this will be “strictly enforced.”
As the afternoon ensued, Utah Public Safety confirms the fire has caused low visibility so if driving on U.S. Highway 40, they advise drivers to have their headlights on and watch for fire crews on the side of the road.
Also, they command drivers not to pull over and watch the fire as this only complicates things in the area.
Lauren Steinbrecher of Fox 13 in Salt Lake City confirms that all aircraft in the area have been forced to land because of high winds and unstable air as the blaze has moved to the north and east.
Alex Cabrero of KSL News Radio and Morgan Saxton of KUTV-2 News report that the fire is impacting structures on the east side of the road as of 3:02 pm MDT.
However, as of 3:06 pm MDT, a few raindrops have come into Duchesne, per Cabrero.
The Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office also announced a new evacuation order for residents south of U.S. Highway 40 from Sam’s Wash Road to the Strawberry River Road west of Starvation Reservoir. Those who live in these areas have been ordered to shelter at Duchesne High School.
Herbert also reminded Utahns of the vast importance of fireworks safety this 4th of July and informed residents that there are no fireworks allowed on federal, state or unincorpated land.
Steinbrecher further reports that as of 5:40 pm MDT, helicopters began to drop water on the blaze as it descended down a hill. Sadly, this hill is full of homes, Steinbrecher confirmed.
The situation worsened as the evening progressed as Rae Ann Christensen of KUTV-2 News in Salt Lake City, among other reporters, confirmed that the Big G Gas Station of Fruitland was evacuated, which had served as a makeshift shelter for journalists. They were all compelled to move to higher ground.
As the blaze spread eastward into Uintah County, the Vernal-based sheriff’s office confirmed that the flames had reached the old power plant on Taylor Mountain Road.
In another report, Steinbrecher confirmed the blaze had easily surpassed 30,000 acres as of 6:54 pm MDT Tuesday.
In one of his reports on the fire, Cabrero stated authorities advise people not to fly drones in the fire area. This is because if a drone is in the area, firefighting aircraft must leave for safety reasons.
The Wasatch County Sheriff’s office also reports that they have issued a voluntary evacuation notice for Pine Hollow, Aspen Grove and 40 Dam Acres, located both east and south of Soldier Creek Dam.
Residents and campers should be mindful of leaving should a mandatory evacuation occur.
