‘Left Fork Fire’ is 100% contained after a two month battle
Jul 2, 2022, 6:11 PM | Updated: May 21, 2023, 4:42 pm
(Credit: KSL-TV)
KANE COUNTY, Utah — The Left Fork Fire is 100% contained according to Utah’s DWR Saturday morning.
In DWR’s press release, despite reaching 100% containment, fire crews will continue to patrol and mop up the fire’s perimeter.
Crews are starting the decontamination process to prevent invasive species like Chytrid and Whirling Disease from spreading.
Chytrid prevents amphibian wildlife from breathing underwater, while Whirling Disease is a water-borne parasite that affects some species of trout and salmon.
As crews and equipment head home from the #LeftForkFire, fire managers take action to control invasive species. These fold-a-tanks with chemicals are used to wash the water handling equipment, as part of a decontamination process to stop the spread of any disease to other forests pic.twitter.com/mKdEwwgki6
— Forest Service-Dixie (@usfsdnf) July 2, 2022
The Left Fork Fire started on May 9 near Bryce Canyon National Park and was mostly under control by local crews as it only was only 97 acres and 60% contained.
However, red flag conditions caused the fire to grow to 325 acres on June 11; by the 20th, it was over 3,000 acres and only 5% contained.
The fire is now 4,254 acres. Investigators said this was a human-caused fire, but it’s unknown how it started.
Only one person was injured, and no structures were damaged or destroyed.