The South Willow Fire, burning between North and South Willow, is now 100% contained.
The South Willow Fire that started between North and South Willow Canyons burned a total of nearly 50 acres last week and has now been reported at 100% containment.
Firefighters aren’t sure when the fire started, but it is possible it started on the evening of Tuesday, August 10, as a result of a lightning strike in the area, according to Jon Smith, North Tooele Fire District’s public information officer.
The fire was first reported on Wednesday, August 11, around 12:15 p.m. It burned on United States Forest Service land. After the fire was reported, crews from North Tooele Fire District, the Grantsville City Fire Department, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands responded. Several planes and helicopters also dumped water on the fire, collected from Grantsville Reservoir.
Those camping, living, and recreationing in North Willow Canyon were evacuated around 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Initially, firefighters visited each campsite to let people know they needed to leave the area. A public notification was also sent out for those who were missed during the evacuation process, Smith said.
“The evacuation was largely precautionary,” Smith said. “There are homes up there and a lot of campsites. We knew if there was a sudden wind shift, the fire could have easily overtaken the campsites really quickly and moved to South Willow Canyon. This was an offensive measure to make sure people were out of the way and not adding congestion to the bottom of the canyon if people were to be asked to leave at once.”
Campers were able to return to the canyon around 4:20 p.m.
“This fire is a great example of how quickly things can change,” Smith said. “We went from having no fire to what could have been a large event… With the air, the red flag warning, and the wind, this had the potential to blow up on us.”
The North Tooele Fire District wants to thank firefighters who responded quickly to the fire and the community who assisted firefighters by staying out of the way and evacuating quickly.
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