Bridal Veil Falls Fire Continues to Burn
By Steve Gehrke and Jason Bergreen, The Salt Lake Tribune
Jul. 29–Firefighters on Monday continued to battle a wildfire in the Bridal Veil Falls area at the south end of Provo Canyon.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, but officials were talking to at least two people in connection with the blaze, said Utah County Fire Marshal Dennis Barker. Arson has not been ruled out.
Flames have scorched about 246 acres since the fire began Thursday, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Loyal Clark.
The blaze swept northeast up the canyon on Monday, but by evening was about 20 percent contained, Clark said. No structures were being threatened.
Nicole Hunter, a spokeswoman with the Department of Public Safety, said crews expected to have the fire completely contained by this afternoon. Clark, however, said a time frame for containment had not been determined.
Three helicopters were dumping water on the rough terrain, and two specially trained “hot shot” crews were on the mountain Monday afternoon, Clark said.
The point of origin of the fire is still under investigation, but crews are focusing on an old, abandoned restaurant frequented by vandals. The fire apparently spread from the restaurant to treetops in the canyon above.
Trail and river access between Nunns and Vivian parks were closed Monday so helicopters could replenish water supplies.
Weather had neither helped nor hurt fire crews, said Hunter, adding that small amounts of rain had failed to douse the flames.
“The biggest problem is that the terrain is so difficult,” she said.
sgehrke@sltrib.com
jbergreem@sltrib.com
—–
To see more of The Salt Lake Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sltrib.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Salt Lake Tribune
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.