The Peavine Canyon Fire, burning 22 miles west of Blanding, Utah, has grown to 278 acres, up from 145 acres on Sunday.
The fire is burning in the Dark Canyon Wilderness of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. New road closures for the fire area went into effect Wednesday.
Forest Road 089 Peavine Corridor is now closed at the trailhead junction with Forest Road 088 South Elk Ridge. Forest Road 5108 Dry Mesa Road will also be closed at the junction with the Forest Road 5340 including all spur roads to the north. Earlier road closures included Forest Trail 023 Brushy Knoll and Forest Trail 157 Peavine Canyon as well as Dry Mesa Spur Road 55391. Fire managers ask the public to avoid the fire area if possible.
Crews have completed a control line around the most intensely burning portions of the fire using existing roads and trails, according to a Forest Service news release.
With increasing moisture in the area, firefighters are able to make good progress protecting the fire line as the fire moves naturally through brush and undergrowth, officials said. The fire received no rain Tuesday.
Crews are conducting burnout operations as they work slowly southward along the closed Peavine Canyon trail. Fire behavior consists of occasional group and single tree torching, and creeping and smoldering in ground fuel. It is burning in manzanita oak brush, ponderosa pine and subalpine fir in steep and rocky terrain difficult to fight directly, officials said.
A hot-shot crew is working on the most active northeast corner of the fire in subalpine fire and timber litter. The crew completed a burnout operation around corrals near the Peavine Corridor in Dark Canyon and the junction of the Peavine Canyon trail No. 157.
Currently, 156 people are assigned to the fire, which was discovered July 16 in the Dark Canyon Wilderness. Full containment is estimated by Aug. 15, officials said. The fire was started by lightning.
Resources available to fight the Peavine Canyon Fire include six fire engines, a Type 3 helicopter and 156 firefighters form two Type I hot-shot crews and two Type II Initial Attack crews.
More information is available at the Manti-La Sal National Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/mantilasal/ .