New wildfire breaks out on Antelope Island

SYRACUSE — Utah Fire Info reported Tuesday afternoon that a new wildfire has started up on Antelope Island around 1 to 2 p.m.

Antelope Island public information officer Kelly Wicken said the fire was contained at 59 acres at approximately 7 p.m.

Officials said the fire is believed to have started around the visitor’s center. Everyone was evacuated off the island. Utah Division of State Parks Associate Director Devan Chavez said there were no reported injuries.

“Thankfully, the visitor center has been closed due to the ongoing construction as of a couple of weeks ago, so there were some staff in the area as well as some construction workers that were able to get out of the way,” Chavez said.

Air resources are using retardant to assist ground crews on the scene. Firefighters from multiple agencies responded.

“Antelope Island is in stage two fire restrictions,” Wickens said. “Much of Utah is under stage one fire restrictions. So keep informed. Go to utahfireinfo.gov.”

The fire has closed Antelope Island State Park until further notice.

“Hot spots can still remain, embers can reignite, so until that time, when the fire team is given that everything is A-OK to proceed, we won’t be letting anyone out onto the park,” Chavez said.

Chavez said the reservations office is working to reach out to people whose camping reservations may be impacted.

“When the park is reopened, it will be noted on both the park’s website as well as the individual social media channel for the park,” he said. “If you’re interested in coming out today, tomorrow, in the coming days and you’re wondering how your visit might be impacted, visit stateParks.Utah.gov”

He said officials have not yet seen a clear impact on the wildlife.

“A number of years ago, when that fire did impact a large portion of Antelope Island, we did see that…a lot of the food that the bison ate was impacted, so that might impact them,” Chavez said. “But at this time, we don’t have an exact idea of how extensive that may or may not be.”

Wickens said that it was determined the fire was human-caused, but specifics are still under investigation.

Utah State Parks said that Antelope Island will be closed throughout Tuesday night, and likely Wednesday morning. They advise people to check online for updates on the closure.

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Mark Jones contributed to this report.