HIGHLAND, Utah — Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in connection to the Yellow Lake Fire burning in eastern Wasatch County that nearly doubled in size after what officials called a "challenging day" on Friday.
As of Saturday, the human-caused fire has grown to 7,798 acres.
People must evacuate from the western and northern forks of the Duchesne River. Meanwhile, campers in the Grandaddy Lakes area of Ashley National Forest are in ready status and should prepare to evacuate.
Red Flag conditions allowed the fire to explode in size thanks to high winds, low humidity and record-breaking temperatures for the month of October. Similar weather conditions were forecast for Saturday, which will force firefighters to take a conservative approach to putting out the wildfire.
A forest closure remains in effect for portions of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Ashley National Forests.
Additional fire spots have ignited north of Highway 35, leading to a spread toward Soapstone Pass and east toward Rhodes Canyon.
Fire officials say the fire is now burning south and parallel to Mirror Lake Highway, but is not currently impacting that area.
The plan Saturday is to minimize the fire's movement into the West Fork of the Duchesne drainage, north into Soapstone Basin, west toward Mill Hollow ,and East towards the North Fork of the Duchesne as crews attempt to protect nearby structures.
Saturday morning's report said the YMCA camp and ranger station remain safe, while the Piuta Girls Camps and its structures have been treated with fire retardant.
The fire remains under investigation.
