Fire shifts, UHP to close roads again

COVE FORT — The "Type I" fire team that promised 500 personnel and air support to the 160,000 acre Milford Flats Fire will not begin working until tomorrow.

The Utah Highway Patrol also said 92 miles of I-15 and 27 miles of I-70 will be again be closed to traffic this afternoon after the UHP opened the the freeways for six hours this morning.

Lightning sparked the blaze Friday afternoon outside of Milford, Beaver County, and ever-changing winds have made the fire erratic.

For now, 109 local firefighters — many of them volunteers — are battling the blaze. The federal government is in the process of sending the Type I team to southern Utah. The plan had originally been for the team to arrive at noon today and begin fighting the fire this afternoon.

"It took longer to get them all here," said Wende Wilding, a public affairs officer for the Bureau of Land Management in Fillmore.

While the incident commander and some firefighters have arrived from the Type I team, they will not assume responsibility for fighting the fire until Monday morning, Wilding said. The plan had been to release local firefighters today, but they will continue working at least through tonight.

"They're able to handle it," Wilding said. "There's not much you can do until they [the Type I team] come. They're coming from all around — Nevada, Idaho."

The blaze is "picking up and heading toward the freeway again," said UHP Lt. Steve Winward, which is prompting closure of I-15 from Parowan to Scipio and I-70 from the I-15 interchange to Richfield. The closure will continue until conditions improve.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com