Escalante fire could be under control by Sunday

The state's first wildfire of the season continues to grow, but authorities said they have made progress in getting it contained.

The Corn Creek fore has scorched about 2,500-acres of timber and grazing lands about 11 miles west of Escalante. Firefighters said Tuesday night the blaze is about 20 percent contained, and it could be fully contained by Sunday.

"We've got more crews," said Barbara Bassler with the firefighting team brought in to help contain the fire. "There's 325 people in now."

Hotshot crews, helicopters, engines, a dozer and water-tender trucks have been brought in to fight the fire, as high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds make it difficult to get control of things. Winds on Tuesday pushed the fire toward a drainage, but crews pressed forward creating a line around the blaze. The fire is threatening timber and grazing areas, fish streams and recreational cabins.

"We've had a lot of people concerned about their cabins," Bassler said.

Numerous roads in the rural area have been closed, including the Main Canyon Road (Forest Highway 17), between the North Creek Junction to Escalante Summit. Forest Road 144 is also closed at the Allen's Canyon/Corn

Creek Junction. Road blocks have been set up to keep people from going into the fire area.

Resources have been plentiful, with crews being brought in from all over the region.

"Because there aren't a lot of fires here, we've had crews arrive and we can get the resources we need," Bassler said.

The Corn Creek fire was started on Sunday by a vehicle that caught fire.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com

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