The Little Twist Fire southeast of Beaver is at 25% containment as of Tueday, July 2. Containment has slowly been increasing over the past week.
After the first week of fairly bad weather causing an active fire, firefighters were able to get the fire 10% contained last Thursday, June 20.
On Sunday a lot happened. The fire grew to 2,398 acres, up by 82 from Thursday, a firefighter sustained severe injuries from a fallen tree KSL reported, and the fire received some rain and hail.
Wednesday the fire is at 2,530 acres and 20% containment. Aerial ignitions Tuesday were successful in burning up fuel and helping firefighters increase containment. They did cause residents to see more smoke in Beaver.
Thursday, June 27, firefighters were able to raise containment again to 25%. Since then, the fire received a little bit of rain before the hot, dry weekend. The fire was very smokey over the weekend, and smoke could be seen from Beaver and Piute counties. On Monday and Tuesday, containment had not grown, and the acreage was at 2,663.
The National Weather Service predicts weather in the mid-80s this week. Winds, currently at 12 miles per hour, will vary slightly over the week.
This fire has been classified as a wildfire for over two and a half weeks. What began as a controlled burn in Fishlake National Forest four miles southeast of Beaver grew to a wildfire on Thursday, June 13.
Wednesday, the Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture made changes to previous area closures. Forest Road 137 (Kents Lake Road), along with LeBaron Campground and Reservoir were re-opened to the public. Anderson Meadow Campground and Anderson Reservoir would remain temporarily closed. “Smoke will continue to be visible for several weeks from the surrounding areas including I-15, I-70, Hwy-89 and Hwy-20,” Utah Fire Info wrote in a post.
Utah Fire Info has been giving daily updates on efforts to contain the fire.
– by Abbie Call, The Byway
Feature image caption: Smoke rising from the Little Twist Fire in Fishlake National Forest in Beaver County. Courtesy of Utah Fire Info.
Abbie Call – Cannonville/Kirksville, Missouri
Abbie Call is a journalist and editor at The Byway. She graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in editing and publishing from Brigham Young University. Her favorite topics to write about include anything local, Utah’s megadrought, and mental health and meaning in life. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hanging out with family, quilting and hiking.
Find Abbie on Threads @abbieb.call or contact her at [email protected].