Management of southern Utah’s largest wildfire transferred back to local firefighters, 84% containment

PANGUITCH, Utah (ABC4) — The Great Basin Incident Management Team 5 transitioned management of the France Canyon fire to a local incident management team, as containment of the fire reached 84%.

As of July 4, the fire has burned 33,364 acres, and it is at 84% containment, according to the latest updates from Utah Fire Info. There are 337 personnel still working the fire.

Current operations

On July 3, crews completed containment on the northwestern fire perimeter from Jonson Canyon to Proctor Canyon, meaning that that area is surrounded by a fuel break. Crews are still working to contain the western flank of the fire.

Firefighters continue to patrol, looking for areas of heat in the interior of the fire perimeter, and they are conducting mop up as needed. They are also continuing to work to repair lines on the fire perimeter, especially in contained areas.

Closures and restrictions

The closure of Dixie National Forest remains in place, and it will remain in place until there is no longer a threat to the public’s safety or firefighter safety, according to the Forest Service. They are requesting that the public respects the closure area.

All state land and all unincorporated private lands in the area are under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. In a nutshell, that means no open fires outside of established campgrounds and permanent fire pits, no smoking outdoors, and no fireworks. Lands within Bryce Canyon National Park, Dixie National Forest, Color Country BLM District and Paria River BLM District are also under Stage 1 Fire restrictions.

State Route 12 and Highway 89 remain open, and Bryce Canyon National Park continues to be open as well. Closure Order # 0407-25-06 is still in effect, including all National Forest System lands south of Utah State Route 12, on the Powell Ranger District, with the exception of trails and campgrounds. East Fork Road (087) remains closed.  

Weather concerns

Thursday was mostly cloudy and transitioned to heavier rains and thunderstorms in the afternoon, which produced lightning and “moderate to heavy rainfall at times,” according to the Forest Service. The heavier rains could have led to flash flooding in some of the canyons within the fire perimeter.

Temperatures cooled down on Thursday, ranging from 68-73 degrees, and humidity was fairly high, 25-39%.

The weather is going to warm up again through the weekend, decreasing humidity and raising temps to upper 70s to lower 80s. Thunderstorms and rain are not expected for the weekend. Seemingly, these are very good conditions for controlling the fire.

Air quality is very good, with all the areas affected by smoke being in the “good” air quality category, according to the smoke outlook.