400-acre human-caused wildfire in Utah County now 50% contained

GOSHEN, Utah — A wildfire in southern Utah County that burned hundreds of acres within just a matter of hours is now about halfway contained.

The "Goshen Fire," burning in Goshen Canyon, is now estimated at 408 acres — slightly more than the previous estimate, but possibly due to more accurate mapping as the fire's growth has slowed down. Officials also said Wednesday afternoon that the fire is 50 percent contained.

The fire broke out late Tuesday afternoon. Karl Hunt, a spokesperson for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said the wildfire showed "extreme fire behavior," and was pushed up the canyon and onto the ridge by the wind.

State wildfire officials said they have confirmed that the fire was human-caused. They said they're still investigating the exact cause, but added that target shooting is the "likely cause."

The fire forced the evacuations of three homes at the mouth of the canyon for a few hours Tuesday night as a safety precaution. The evacuation order was lifted around 10:30 p.m. No other structures were threatened, and officials said there haven't been any power outages from the fire.

The Utah Interagency Fire Center said crews from several different agencies are "working to establish anchor points and build a containment line along the perimeter of the fire."

"Fire activity has moderated along the fire perimeter with occasional smoke from internal areas of concern still visible. A 40% chance of moisture is forecasted for the burn area after 12:00 p.m today," they added in an update on Wednesday.