619-acre Parleys Canyon Fire in Utah 0% contained; thousands evacuated

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A fire burning in Utah was reported to be smaller than first estimated as it continued to burn uncontained Sunday.

Officials in Utah's Summit County tweeted that the Parleys Canyon Fire had burned about 619 acres, down from a previous estimate of 1,500.

No homes were currently threatened by the blaze.

Summit County fire official Sierra Hellstrom said Sunday morning the Parleys Canyon Fire was 0% contained, adding containment was not likely to increase until the end of the day.

Night crews reported minimal overnight behavior in the blaze and 120 personnel were on the scene as of Sunday morning, according to Utah Fire Info.

The blaze was sparked by a faulty catalytic converter traveling up the canyon at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

More than 8,000 people were evacuated Saturday as the areas of Summit Park, Pinebrook and upper Mill Creek Canyon were under evacuation orders on Sunday due to the blaze.

Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez said on Twitter that the evacuations could remain in place until Tuesday.

"If fire behavior changes, we will make decisions accordingly," he wrote.

On Saturday, the Utah Department of Natural Resources announced Jordanelle State Park would be closed to allow fire crews to utilize the reservoir to fight the fire.

The blaze also caused a temporary outage for 2,461 Rocky Mountain Power customers but electricity was restored by Sunday.

California's Dixie Fire on Sunday had burned 554,816 acres and was 31% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

It has destroyed 1,120 structures and damaged 74 more, while 6,550 personnel including 570 fire engines, 194 water tenders, 198 dozers and 20 helicopters have been deployed to combat the fire.

Cal Fire officials said vegetation was "extremely dry and burning conditions are near critical" as fire behavior in the next few days was expected to consist of "wind-driven surface fire, isolated torching and spotting."

The Plumas County Sheriff's Office on Sunday issued another round of mandatory evacuations for the unpopulated areas of Babock Crossing, Elephants Playground and Murdock Crossing.

While the area is unpopulated, the sheriff's office warned anyone in the area should evacuate to the south.