Six inches of snow douses Yellow Lake Fire, closure areas reduced

October 19

HEBER, Utah (ABC4) — Firefighters battling the devastating Yellow Lake Fire in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest saw some relief after this week’s storm dropped an inch of rain and six inches of snow onto the fire area.

As of Friday, Oct. 18, the fire has burned over 33,000 acres and did not grow overnight. It is still only 30% contained.

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With a winter storm warning in effect and sub-freezing temperatures expected in the area, fire management teams have released more fire resources from the scene. The closure areas for the Uinta-Wasatch Cache National Forest and the Ashley National Forest have also been reduced.

The remaining fire crews at the scene will take advantage of the downtime to do tool maintenance and training and conduct an extensive “After-Action Review” — which officials say is a standard process in all levels of incident management.

“In this process, crews discuss in-depth what they have been doing on the fire, what worked well, what could have been improved, how it could have been improved, and lessons learned,” the National Park Service said.

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The California Interagency Incident Management Team that took over fire operations last week will also be relinquishing command back to local fire teams comprised of fire personnel from the National Forests.

Fire officials will continue to keep the community involved by hosting community meetings on Saturday, Oct. 19, at Kamas Middle School and on Sunday, Oct. 20, at the Tabiona School gymnasium. Both meetings start at 4 p.m. and will go over the transition, including fire area rehabilitation and closures.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.

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