The Dollar Ridge Fire was a
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
that burned in
Ashley National Forest
Ashley National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest located in northeastern Utah and southwestern Wyoming. Within the Forest's bounds are (with in Utah and in Wyoming) of vast forests, lakes, and mountains, with elevati ...
in
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
in the United States during July 2018. It consumed , making it the second-largest wildfire of the
2018 Utah wildfire season.
The fire prompted the evacuation of 200-300 people and destroyed or damaged 80 homes and nearly 400 trailers, sheds, and vehicles.
Events
The Dollar Ridge Fire started on private property around 1:00 pm
Mountain Daylight Time
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The ...
on July 1, 2018. By evening, it had grown to . The fire continued to grow to on July 2, prompting evacuations of 200-300 homes in Strawberry Gorge, Camelot Resort, the Current Creek subdivision, and Pinyon Ridge subdivision.
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
evacuation centers were established at the Fruitland Chapel of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
and the
Duchesne High School.
By July 3, 191 fire personnel and 2 helicopters had been allocated to the fire, but hazardous conditions limited their ability to respond to the rapidly growing fire.
The escalating situation prompted the evacuation of two more neighborhoods on July 4, and a Type 1
incident management team (IMT) arrived to assume management of the fire.
Over the next few days, firefighters successfully slowed the growth of the fire with the support of aerial resources, which by this point included
Super Scooper
The Canadair CL-415 (Super Scooper, later Bombardier 415) and the De Havilland Canada DHC-515 are a series of amphibious aircraft built originally by Canadair and subsequently by Bombardier and De Havilland Canada. The CL-415 is based on the ...
aircraft. A turning point occurred on July 7, when cloud cover and light rain helped to moderate fire activity, resulting in 30% containment of the fire.
Favorable weather continued to aid firefighters over the next several days, with containment increasing to 60% by July 11, allowing local officials to lift some of the evacuation orders.
As fire activity continued to diminish, firefighters and other resources were released or reassigned. Management of the fire was downgraded to a Type 2 IMT on July 18,
and remaining evacuation orders were lifted on July 22.
However, the southwest section of the fire perimeter continued to prove problematic due to the inaccessibility of its terrain. Containment was measured at 93% on July 23, but was subsequently lowered during the first week of August back down to 90%.
Fire management was eventually downgraded again to a Type 3 IMT before being returned to local personnel.
The final incident update was posted on August 31, and later reports indicated that full containment was finally achieved in October 2018.
Impact
The Dollar Ridge Fire consumed of land
and caused extensive property loss, destroying 74 homes and damaging 6 others. Additionally, 131 camp trailers, 81 utility trailers, 158 sheds, and 25 vehicles were destroyed.
Further property damage was later caused by debris flow caused by late-summer storms in the burned-out areas.
Additionally, ash run-off from the fire devastated the popular Strawberry River fishery and is predicted to have an impact on municipal water supplies. The
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) is part of the Utah Department of Natural Resources for the state of Utah in the United States. The mission of the Division of Wildlife Resources is to serve the people of Utah as trustee and guard ...
began habitat restoration efforts in November 2018, focusing their efforts on the river basin. Department officials estimate that it will take 3–5 years for vegetation to fill back in and for fish populations to recover from the effects of the fire.
The fire is believed to the result of human activity, but the exact cause was never determined.
Notes
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{Cite web, url=https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5881/, title=Dollar Ridge Fire, website=inciweb.nwcg.gov, publisher=]National Wildfire Coordinating Group
The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) was formed in the United States as a result of the aftermath of a major wildfire season in 1970, including the Laguna Fire.
The 1970 fire season underscored the need for a national set of training ...
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2018 Utah wildfires