WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah — Crews gathered early Tuesday morning in Washington County to plan how to contain the raging "Veyo West Fire" that has burned nearly 3,000 acres and forced evacuations that have since been canceled.
Despite getting some areas cleared to the east of the fire, there was zero containment as of Tuesday morning. It was estimated at 2,900 acres.
One home was destroyed in the blaze and other structures were damaged.
The Barlow family lost everything in their small home after it caught fire in the #VeyoWestFire. My heart breaks for them but they say they’re thankful their dog and cats made it out alive. @fox13 pic.twitter.com/gmOmsUzKi9
— HaileyHiggins (@HaileyHiggins) July 14, 2020
Kevin Abel with the US Forest Service says safety is always job number one, especially with winds that are expected to kick up later in the day.
"Today we're in a Red Flag Warning, we're expecting winds to pick up this afternoon," Abel said. "With that we have to watch out for firefighter safety and the spread of this fire to the west.
Bulldozers and hand crews are cutting containment lines in an effort to keep the fire from spreading to areas that have not burned to the west.
A Type-3 incident management team joined the fight against this fire Tuesday. The multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional team is made up of firefighters with special training and equipment.
Together with the crews already on scene, the hope is a full ground and air attack will help get the fire somewhat contained.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized a Fire Management Assistance Grant to support firefighting efforts.
FEMA approves Fire Management Assistance Grant for #VeyoWestFire in Washington County, UT to support firefighting efforts. pic.twitter.com/zRhe8HIFwe
— FEMA Region 8 (@femaregion8) July 14, 2020
