Officials prep for day five of Dollar Ridge Fire fight

FRUITLAND, Utah – Thursday marks the fifth-day firefighters try to get a handle on the Dollar Ridge Fire near Strawberry Reservoir.

The fire has spread 42,000 acres and is four percent contained. Once again, firefighters will be dealing with conditions causing extreme fire danger.

“Today we’re not going to have the sustained winds that we’ve had in the past, however, there is a chance of thunderstorms, so what that brings in is a very strong chance where we might be able to have erratic winds that could see additional growth on this fire,” said Public Information Officer Don Jacques.

Wednesday night the fire jumped Highway 40. Utah Department of Transportation says the highway continues to be closed Thursday in both directions between milepost 50 and milepost 85. They suggest using State Route 35 or US Highway 191 as an alternate route. UDOT has no current estimate for its reopening.

Thursday’s conditions could mean more evacuations.

“Be prepared. If an evacuation order should come to your area heed that warning because the fire progression that we’ve seen has been exponential. We’ve seen fire spotting across Highway 40 that’s the reason we had that closure last night, about a 200-acre spot on the north side of the fire and so this could happen basically anywhere on the fire. When you have a thunderstorm, it scatters that, those flames and embers. It could spot up to a half a mile away from the initial body of the fire,” said Jacques.

Thursday night at seven pm, fire officials are hosting a community meeting for locals at Duchesne High School. Members from the Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, State of Utah Department of Natural Resources and the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office will be there to answer questions.