Two wildfires burning near the town of Grouse Creek have reportedly forced residents to evacuate. Photo: Deseret News
GROUSE CREEK – Two wildfires have now merged into one in Box Elder County. Residents have evacuated, SR-30 has closed, and 100,000 acres have burned.
The Goose Creek fire, as of Monday morning, is 15% contained.
Jewel Kimber Franklin says cattle ranchers like her have it the worst.
“It’s eating up all of our fall and winter feed for the cattle,” she said. “We won’t be able to use it for our cattle for the next two years.”
The China Jim and Goose Creek wildfires have merged near the Utah-Nevada-Idaho borders.
Bureau of Land Management Fire Spokeswoman Dorothy Harvey says residents of the small town of Grouse Creek have been told to evacuate.
“We’ve got air tankers that are dropping water on and around Grouse Creek,” she said. “We’ve have fire engines around a lot of the homes.”
Crews expect “extreme fire behavior” Monday and expect the blaze to move south quickly toward the small town of Etna.