North Eden Fire Spreads To 5,000 Acres In First Day

RICH COUNTY, Utah – A wildfire east of Bear Lake near the Utah, Idaho and Wyoming border quickly spread to more than 5,000 acres Thursday and resulted in a close call for some firefighters who were working to repair a broken-down truck.

Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands spokesman Jason Curry said the fire sparked after 1 p.m. and was only 10 percent contained as of Thursday night.

Curry said during the initial stages of the response, a large engine from Woodruff encountered mechanical problems, and a fire warden responded to try to help.

“Flames moved quickly toward them, cut off their escape route,” Curry explained. “They had to retreat from their vehicles into the black, and the vehicles were a total loss.

Curry said the firefighters only had about three minutes from the warden arriving to when the flames were practically on top of them.

“They began to spray water to try and create a little bit of a buffer so fire wouldn’t take the vehicles and then they retreated through some flames,” Curry said. “We’re very fortunate everybody is here to be able to be telling this story of a close call versus something much different.”

Curry said the firefighters were not injured during the close call.

Fire crews said erratic winds from passing thunderstorms did not help the situation Thursday as flames spread through light fuels.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Thursday evening.

Curry said the state has seen as many as 30 large fires this season, marking what is being characterized as the busiest fire season in Utah in the past decade.

“We continue to ask the public to be really vigilant out there in terms of avoiding fire,” Curry said. “Continue to be safe and don’t give us any more to deal with.”