Monstrous Utah fire razes 300,000 acres

SALT LAKE CITY-A wildfire in central Utah grew to more than 468 square miles Monday as authorities awaited the arrival of hundreds of firefighters to battle the blaze.
Interstates 15 and 70 were closed periodically over the weekend as the fire leapt the road and heavy smoke impaired visibility.After opening the roads last night, officials announced this morning they would be closed again for most of today.The Milford Flat Fire, burning about 120 miles south of Salt Lake City, has raced through extremely dry sagebrush, cheat grass and pinion juniper."This is a monstrous fire," said state fire information officer Jim Springer."It's still dry with erratic gusty winds. We're still looking at extreme fire danger," said Susan Marzec, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.Interstate 15 was a priority. If wind conditions are favorable, crews planned to set an intentional fire to eliminate any fuel burning near the major north-south route.The goal is to secure the roadway so that it can stay open while firefighters work on the wildfire, Marzec said."As is true with fire, you don't do things like that unless the conditions are safe enough," she said. "It's extremely difficult to predict what the winds are going to do."The fire grew to more than 300,000 acres in Millard and Beaver counties and was sparked Friday by lightning.It is the largest wildfire in Utah history, easily surpassing a 148-square-mile fire.About 250 people were fighting the fire, along with two helicopters and three air tankers.The number of firefighters could surpass 500, Marzec said.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nation/article/0,1299,DRMN_16_5621271,00.html
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