Drone sighting grounds aerial attack of 600-acre Wasatch Co. wildfire
By Ben Lockhart
DEER CREEK STATE PARK — A human-caused wildfire raging near Deer Creek Reservoir in Wasatch County continued to grow Tuesday, reaching 600 acres as fire crews battled canyon winds and tried to wrest control over the blaze.
The Wheeler Fire remained about 5 percent contained Tuesday night, unchanged from late Monday, said Mike Eriksson, spokesman for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. The fire was not threatening homes or businesses.
Eriksson said fire crews were wary of strong canyon winds spreading the wildfire. High temperatures, dry conditions and rugged terrain were also making the fire difficult to combat, he said.
About 230 firefighters were fighting the blaze late Tuesday. Helicopters used water from Deer Creek Reservoir to dump water over the flames, before a drone sighting Tuesday evening caused all firefighting aircraft to be grounded for the day.
