BURRVILLE, Utah — The town of Burrville is on the southeast side of the Monroe Canyon Fire and remained evacuated on Thursday as crews continue efforts to get a handle on the fire that's grown to nearly 50,000 acres and keeps expanding.
The plumes of smoke and flames are a scary sight, and officials expect more evacuations to come. But for those in the Fish Lake area, they're conditions they've dealt with before.
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"We're still telling people we're here if they want to come up. The only thing [the fire] might affect is our water, it's through a pump system," explained Courtney Moulton with Fish Lake Resorts.
The resort is one of about 3,000 customers without power in Wayne County.
"A lot of emotions, I’m very familiar with that community down there," said Moulton. "Went to school in Koosharem, have a lot of friends that way. I’m amazed with how far that fire has spread from coming on the backside, coming all the way over and down.”
Video below shows size of Monroe Canyon Fire burning near Koosharem (Courtesy: Ryan Fleenor)
Fire crews are working to control the wildfire, but conditions have been tough with high winds and very dry weather.
"Obviously, we're not a big town, we are rural communities, it does affect us a lot, some of this is our livelihood. This is all that we do," Moulton explained.
Moulton runs Fish Lake Resorts with her parents, and they are staying open and offering all the services they can.
Garkane Power said 12 of their power lines have burned. The company is trying to get generators in place, although it's unsure how long that will take.
Moulton and others have gratitude for those tirelessly working to save their home.
"All the volunteer work, we really appreciate everything they're doing, a lot of love out to them," she shared.
In an update released by Garkane Energy Cooperative, they have released the following update:
"Big Progress in Wayne County
It’s been a long day, which is why we haven’t posted much—but the crew in Wayne County has performed a miracle. They’ve managed to patch the transmission line back together.
If everything holds, we plan to re-energize the line between 6 and 7 p.m. tonight. This will bring the system back online.
The plan is to keep power flowing through this temporary repair while we set up generators. Once those are in place, we’ll switch to generator power so crews can safely de-energize the line and make permanent repairs in the coming weeks.
Everyone has given their very best today. We’re proud to work alongside such a dedicated and talented team.
Safety Reminder
If you are running a generator at your home or business, please make sure your main breaker is turned OFF. This protects our crews and keeps everyone safe while we work to restore power."
