Crews now fighting Dixie Park wildfire

Dixie National Park officials have had quite enough of a wildfire that had burned almost 1,700 acres as of Saturday morning.

Although the fire was allowed to burn naturally for three days, multiple fire crews from around the state have banded together to completely extinguish it now that it's grown as large as officials want it to spread.

"There aren't that many large fires in Utah right now," said Dixie National Forest spokeswoman Andi Falsetto. "But it's one of the largest, so it's getting our attention." Utah fire crews teamed up with firefighters from the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Forest Service to completely suppress the fire.

The wildfire, located three miles north of Panguitch Lake, has destroyed an isolated outbuilding. There is no immediate threat to the summer homes in the area or to any of the other outbuildings, Falsetto said.

It started when lightning struck in the valley's south end on July 2. But fire crews didn't jump on the blaze until Thursday, when strong winds began to feed the flames. Until then, the blaze was allowed to burn naturally to thin vegetation and give the park's aspen trees an opportunity to regenerate.

Cooler weather is expected to help suppression efforts this week.

Falsetto said it is not known when the fire will die down. A flight crew soaring over the flames determined its approximate size, she said.

The park closed the area between Pole Hollow Road and Caddy Creek Road to keep the public out of harm's way. Horse Valley Road and the area west of it will remain open, but the area east of it is closed as well.

e-mail: mmcfall@desnews.com