MORGAN, Utah — A wildfire in Morgan has tripled in size in less than 20 hours. The Rocky Canyon Fire has now spread over 2,000 acres, even stretching over the border of one nearby ranch.
“You just wonder, you don’t know where it’s going to go,” said Joshua Schlichte, a family member of the Warrior Rizen Ranch owner. "I guess you don’t know what to think.”
Within a day, winds stoked the flames, sending them over the border of Joshua Schlichte’s family ranch as firefighters race to put it out.
"The fire retardant is kind of at the boundary of our property," Schlichte said. "You see some of the smoke on it that’s not able to burn as much as it wants because of some of the fire retardant that’s on there."
On Saturday morning, the fire was only 600 acres. By the afternoon, it grew to at least 1,200 acres, and then 2,863 by Saturday night.
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“This year, it’s becoming pretty normal,” said Kelly Wickens, the public information officer for the Rocky Canyon Fire. “We’ve been seeing fire behavior act incredibly much faster than we’ve seen in past years. Doubling in size in a short period of time is kind of becoming the new common.”
It’s the new norm, causing distress to those living on the fiery frontlines.
“It’s a rollercoaster, right?" Schlichte said. "You’re just like ‘Oh, the smoke’s going down, great, we’re saved,' and then 'Oh, the fire’s back'… We’ll see where it goes from here.”
