By Ben Winslow
Deseret News
DRAPER, Utah — The day after a wildfire forced the evacuation of several Draper neighborhoods, the flames were moving up Corner Canyon and away from homes.
The fire grew to more than 800 acres but was 35 percent contained by Tuesday evening, thanks to firefighters and favorable winds, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Kathy Jo Pollock.
"The threat to the homes is minimal," she said Tuesday afternoon. "The winds are coming from the north, which is kind of pushing the fire back into itself -- the little of it there is left."
Helicopters made water drops over the area as about 100 firefighters, including a Hotshot crew from Idaho, spent the day removing fuel and digging lines around the fire.
Some of those firefighters were expected to spend Tuesday night on the mountain to cut down on time spent hiking to and from the fire, Pollock said.
"They'll be ready to go first thing in the morning," she said.
Investigators were on scene trying to determine an exact cause of the fire, starting at the point of its origin.
"It is a human-caused fire," said Unified Fire Authority spokesman Ben Sharer.
The fire started near 13600 South and 2000 East just after noon Monday.
The flames came within a few hundred yards of some homes along the east bench. Officials evacuated more than 60 homes and said the fire threatened 112 houses at one point.
The Corner Canyon fire is one of three blazes crews will continue battling this morning.
The Gate Narrow Fire has burned 775 acres just two mile east of Terra in Tooele County after a vehicle sparked the blaze Monday afternoon, officials said.
The fire was about 20 percent contained Tuesday night and was still threatening about 20 sheds, outbuildings and other structures on a number of ranches in the area, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
Meanwhile, a wildfire is also burning about 3 1/2 miles northwest of Eureka, along the Juab-Utah County line. The Lonesome Pine fire had torched more than 550 acres and was about 75 percent contained Tuesday night.
Two firefighters have suffered minor injuries fighting the blaze, said BLM spokeswoman Lisa Reid. Both firefighters twisted a knee while navigating the steep, rocky terrain, she said.
The cause of that fire is still under investigation.
Copyright 2008 The Deseret News Publishing Co.
