Hundreds Evacuated as Hilltop Fire Burns Through Sanpete County

INDIANOLA, Utah — The Hilltop Fire in Sanpete County forced hundreds of evacuations Tuesday afternoon, after wind pushed the flames dangerously close to homes.

According to LeAnn Fox, public information officer with Forestry Fire and State Lands, there have been two structures destroyed, but thankfully no injuries. The fire has no containment, and 1,400 acres have burned.

“That 1,400 number was before the fire blew up this afternoon,” Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox told KSL-5 reporter Brittany Tait. “The acreage burned has grown significantly larger than that.”

Tuesday, the Logan Hot Shots arrived to help fight the blaze.

“We were able to get some air support in today,” Lt. Governor Cox said. “We had a couple helicopters and two big tankers. But the bad news is the Hilltop Fire jumped one of our dozer lines.”

Wayne Warr lives in Hideaway Valley. He was mowing his lawn when he spotted the fire coming over the ridge, near his home.

“I turned to my wife and said, ‘We need to get out of here’. We grabbed a few things from our house. Then there was an official with the sheriff’s department there to tell us to evacuate,” Warr said. “I had created defensible space — chopped all the trees down around our house. It’s a wash whether it will work or not.”

Sanpete County ranks the most severe in drought conditions in the nation. Farmers there haven’t seen rain in months.

Lt. Gov. Cox told KSL-5 News a Type-2 Federal Fire Team arrived Tuesday night to jointly fight the Coal Hollow and the Hilltop Fires. The hand crews will hit the ground Wednesday.

“It will look like a city of firefighters in the morning,” he said. “I am optimistic. We have more resources and communities are coming together.”