Firefighters contain blaze near Vernal

VERNAL — Firefighters had things under control Wednesday, after a prescribed burn at a Uintah County wildlife refuge got out of hand when high winds rolled through the area earlier this week.

The fire started Monday afternoon and burned more than 600 acres in the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge about 30 miles southwest of Vernal, said Cheryl Nelsen, manager of the Uinta Basin Interagency Fire Center.

Firefighters had the flames under control by Wednesday afternoon, she said.

The Bureau of Land Management had planned to burn 260 acres of cattail and bulrush in an area commonly used as an animal resting spot, Nelsen said. After burning one area Monday, workers had moved on to a second area when the winds changed.

"The winds picked up and shifted, and we had a flare-up" in the first area, Nelsen said. "It was still smoldering, and it just took off."

Winds of more than 40 mph fanned the flames, which jumped a river and began burning some cottonwood trees, she said.

More than 600 acres of land were charred by the time firefighters got the flames under control Wednesday afternoon, she said. The fire never threatened any structures and no injuries were reported, Nelsen said.

Last July, the Greenville Bench Fire torched 14,600 acres of land about six miles southwest of Beaver after a BLM prescribed burn jumped its lines.