Human-ignited Boulter Fire blazes through 2,300 acres in 24 hours

VERNON, Tooele County — A fire that ignited Saturday, the Boulter Fire, was confirmed to have grown to 2,300 acres in approximately 24 hours according to Utah Fire Info. The fire was still zero percent contained Sunday afternoon.

The fire burned near the border of Tooele and Juab counties along state Route 36 Saturday afternoon, and was first reported as 200 acres. The acre number as of Saturday evening was 3,000, and according to Brian Trick with Utah Fire Info, crews were able to extinguish 700 acres overnight.

The fire was confirmed to be human-caused, although authorities did not give further specifics.

SR-36 was closed Saturday afternoon from milepost three to 11, but Utah Fire Info said the road was open in both directions Sunday. Approximately 89 firefighters were working to secure sections of the fire’s border with 18 engines, 6 water tenders, a dozer and a type three helicopter.

Trick said the forecast Sunday was much more favorable than it was Saturday. According to him, the fire made it up to a line of juniper trees, which can fuel fires further, so crews were specifically making sure that line of the fire was being taken care of Sunday.

Portions of Vernon, Eureka and small residences in between were evacuated Saturday. Utah Fire Info said the evacuations were lifted as of 1 p.m. Sunday.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to reflect new info and corrections Utah Fire Info made on the number of personnel at the scene.

Contributing: Brianna Chavez, KSL TV