Thursday, July 26, 2012

Seminoe Fire UPDATE

Fire crews continue to make excellent progress in fighting the Seminoe Fire, located roughly 30 miles north of the Town of Rawlins, and one mile north of the Seminoe Dam. The fire has burned to Kortes Reservoir. Today, crews prepared for burnout operations on southwest side of the fire and were mopping up on the north side of the fire where the fire was not actively burning.
Crews have been working on fire containment lines at west Seminoe Canyon, east of Long Creek Canyon and north of Morgan Creek. Firefighting efforts focused on keeping the fire within those boundaries. There are 24 structures and power lines in the area being protected, including two ranch houses north of the fire and Bureau of Reclamation housing near Seminoe Dam, roughly one-half mile south of the fire. No structures have burned. Nine cabins just one mile west of the fire were not considered threatened as of July 24. Firefighters have protected the structures with preventative burnout operations which involve burning materials between the fire and a barrier, such as a road, to prevent future fire spread. With the success of firefighting efforts, management of the fire stayed with Markason's Type III team instead of changing to a Type II team as was decided several days ago. More than 300 firefighting personnel remain working on the fire. Evacuations were lifted for Miracle Mile campground. Recreationists should be cautious and aware that evacuations could be put into effect again at any time. Carbon County Road 351 remains partially closed. The road is open until Seminoe State Park at the Red Hills entrance, then closed northward. The route is also closed just south of the Miracle Mile bridge, where the fire is still active. The fire was first reported on Saturday afternoon and is suspected to have been started by lightning. Priorities for firefighting include suppressing the fire and keeping all involved safe.

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