William Fire Update Sept. 13, 2020

September 13, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.

Location: 2 miles south of Santaquin, UT                                              

Start Date: September 6, 2020                                                             

Phone: 1-435-414-9418

Email: [email protected]

Cause: Human caused, target shooting                                                  

Acres: 4,332

Percent Contained: 55%                                                                     

Personnel Assigned: 200

Current Status:  Today firefighters will continue to mop up and improve the fireline on the north flank of the fire. The crews will mop up hot spots 100 feet into the interior to ensure wind and rolling debris won’t ignite fire in unburned fuel outside the line. Firefighters will hike into the 3 acre spot south of the main fire to check hot spots that were identified in the area by the infrared mapping flight.  Development of a Strategic Plan continues for the southern portion of the fire. It includes tactical options for parts of the fire that impact safety of firefighters due to extreme terrain. Contingency dozer line has been completed on the west side of the fire for suppression options should the fire move in that direction.

There are closures on Pole Canyon Road and the Mona Pole Road (Forest Service road #600/#160) and details can be found on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest website https://www.fs.usda.gov/uwcnf.

We ask that the public stay away from the area for the safety of the firefighters and the public.

Hunters with limited entry Bull Elk tags, please check your unit, be sure to stay out of the closure area. We aim to keep the public and firefighters safe, your aim will help.

Aircraft are still actively working over the fire and private or recreational drones as well as aircraft are excluded from flying in the area. There is an active Temporary Flight Restriction with a radius of 5 miles around the fire.

Weather: Today the warming and drying trend continues with temperatures forecast in the upper 80s and relative humidity in the low teens.

Moderate fire behavior is expected with increased smoldering and burning on the interior of the fire. Visible smoke is expected, especially on south and west facing slopes. There is a fuel and fire behavior advisory in effect for critically dry fuels through September 25, 2020.

A TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) has been implemented over the fire area – which means recreational drones and private aircraft cannot fly over the fire. The TFR was changed at 07:00 am, September 13, 2020 and details can be found here: https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_0_1623.html. Remember, “IF YOU FLY, WE CAN’T.”

Fire information can be found on Utah Wildfire Information at https://utahfireinfo.gov/. Check out News & Events and ‘Like Us’ on facebook.com/UtahWildfire , and ‘Follow Us’ on twitter.com/UtahWildfire for further information.