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Expert fire crew brought in to battle Utah wildfire

By Danielle Haynes
Utah's Brian Head Fire grew to more than 35,000 acres as of Saturday morning, prompting officials to bring in a group of expert firefighters. Photo courtesy Utah Fire Info/Facebook
Utah's Brian Head Fire grew to more than 35,000 acres as of Saturday morning, prompting officials to bring in a group of expert firefighters. Photo courtesy Utah Fire Info/Facebook

June 24 (UPI) -- Fire officials in Utah brought in an elite firefighting crew to battle a growing 37,560-acre blaze in the rural southwestern portion of the state.

The Type 1 incident management team a group of expert firefighters, were dispatched to handle a portion of the Brian Head Fire on Friday night. They are specially trained to fight high-priority fires and travel around the country doing so.

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As of Saturday, the blaze grew 10,000 since Thursday morning, the Iron County Emergency Management said.

On Thursday night, the blaze destroyed 13 residences and eight outbuildings. There has been no damage to structures since then.

The fire was ignited by a resident burning weeds and has been fueled by hot, dry conditions and strong wind. Five percent of the blaze has been contained.

"Continued hot, dry, and windy conditions have hampered firefighting efforts throughout the week," fire officials said Saturday morning. "Unprecedented fire behavior has been observed."

The fire forced the evacuation of Brian Head, Utah, a tiny ski town where about 750 people were told to leave; the Mammoth Springs area also was evacuated.

The fire is encroaching on about 400 cabins on the north and east sides of Panguitch Lake, a popular summer tourist destination for fishing. The Garfield County Sheriff's Office said they did not have an exact count on how many people have evacuated the north side of the lake, but some residents crossed to the south side, which was not under immediate threat.

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Fire officials are hoping to prevent the fire from hopping across State Route 143 southwest of the lake. The expert firefighting crew is expected to battle the blaze around the lake.

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