MILLARD COUNTY, Utah — A significant wildfire continues burning in the hills between I-15 and Scipio Monday.
The Tower Fire had burned more than 1,300 acres as of Monday, but fortunately, it wasn’t near any homes.
Consistent, high winds led to a red flag warning for most of the state Monday and will continue through Wednesday — and that’s a big worry for firefighters and for folks who live in the area.
Just a few hundred yards uphill from I-15, the Tower Fire sprang to life Monday afternoon. And the American flag at a Scipio rest stop was flying straight out.
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Freddy Roman lives in Fillmore and said it was concerning.
“It was pretty windy yesterday, and the wind is still going today. We don’t know how it’s going to be; hopefully, they have it under control," he said.
Scipio resident Aubrey Woodard said she was keeping a close eye on the blaze.
“You know, it’s something we worry about it every summer," she said.
Woodard said she and her husband moved to Scipio from the Salt Lake Valley several years ago.
“I did hear this one was man-made, which is such a tragedy and then a year with this drought, It’s really hard.”
Kylee Stott with the Central Utah Incident Management Team said it’s early in the season to be dealing with a situation like this.
“Everybody knows we are in drought, and we’re in early June right now and seeing fire behavior that we’re not typically seeing, most of the time seeing until summer, come July, August.
So use your fire sense," Stott said.
Besides being a comfortable distance away from homes and structures, locals like Ryker Frischknechd said there was one thing working in their favor.
“These last couple big rainstorms we’ve had have really helped kind of keep that at bay," Frischknechd said. "I think it would’ve been a heck of a lot worse, we’ve got a lot more greenery this year, not quite as dry.”
Aubrey Woodard said it’s definitely helped.
“Yes, we’ve been very fortunate to have several rainstorms in the last month. And the vegetation was coming in nicely," she said.
By Monday evening, the winds died down a little bit. But the red flag warning, which covers most of the state, is expected to last through Wednesday night.
