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Lightning fire still burning west of S.L.
A wildfire triggered by lightning on Thursday flared up Friday due to unstable weather and high winds, before calming down later in the day.
By Friday night, about 1,200 acres of sagebrush and cheat grass in the Lakeside Mountains west of Salt Lake City had been scorched, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Teresa Rigby said. The fire is burning mostly to the west in Sheep Canyon and had crested the ridge to eastside slopes in several places.
"They think that they'll be able to contain it by Sunday," Rigby said of the blaze, which was 30 percent contained Friday night.
Lightning-charged rain clouds and high winds overnight Thursday contributed to the fire's rapid growth, she said.
The so-called "Sheep Fire" had crept within about a half mile of the Magcorp magnesium smelter but was not threatening the plant or any of its resources Friday, Rigby said.
A total of 76 firefighters, including two 20-person hand crews, were fighting the blaze with support from five fire engines, two helicopters and an air attack plane.
The fire was being mapped from the air by a global positioning system Friday afternoon, Rigby said.
A wildfire triggered by lightning on Thursday flared up Friday due to unstable weather and high winds, before calming down later in the day.
By Friday night, about 1,200 acres of sagebrush and cheat grass in the Lakeside Mountains west of Salt Lake City had been scorched, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Teresa Rigby said. The fire is burning mostly to the west in Sheep Canyon and had crested the ridge to eastside slopes in several places.
"They think that they'll be able to contain it by Sunday," Rigby said of the blaze, which was 30 percent contained Friday night.
Lightning-charged rain clouds and high winds overnight Thursday contributed to the fire's rapid growth, she said.
The so-called "Sheep Fire" had crept within about a half mile of the Magcorp magnesium smelter but was not threatening the plant or any of its resources Friday, Rigby said.
A total of 76 firefighters, including two 20-person hand crews, were fighting the blaze with support from five fire engines, two helicopters and an air attack plane.
The fire was being mapped from the air by a global positioning system Friday afternoon, Rigby said.
