A wildfire is burning at the Cache County and Weber County line, near what is commonly referred to as the Liberty-Avon divide. According to the Great Basin Communication Center, the fire was first detected at 2:46 p.m. and quickly grew Thursday. At one point, the fire was estimated to have grown to 1200 acres, but according to Weber County officials was later revised to 783 acres late Thursday evening.
The #LibertyFire has burned 783 acres and is at 0% containment. No structures are threatened and crews will be working through the night. Pineview Reservoir and @PowMow will remain closed to the public and re-evaluated for opening at 9:30 am. pic.twitter.com/IMGT7CGCTN
— Weber County (@WeberCounty) August 31, 2018
What is officially being referred to as the Avon Fire is not immediately threatening structures, however Powder Mountain resort initiated a precautionary evacuation Thursday afternoon and SR 158, known as Powder Mountain Road, is closed. As of 5:40 p.m. crews also closed Davenport Creek Road, which connects Avon to Liberty, and began evacuating anyone who may be recreating in the backcountry.
Due to a nearby wildfire, all traffic up Powder Mountain rd (SR 158) is prohibited. Powder Mountain is currently doing a precautionary evacuation.
The final race of the Paper Airplane MTB Series is CANCELED. This race will not be made up. Thank you for your understanding. pic.twitter.com/BqN7k8CaxS
— Powder Mountain (@PowMow) August 30, 2018
Crews from Cache, Hyrum, Wellsville and Paradise are assisting crews from Weber County to fight the blaze. Snowcrest Jr. High in Liberty was an evacuation center for residents affected by the fires until approximately 9 p.m. Thursday evening. The Red Cross and other Weber County emergency response agencies will hold a briefing at Liberty Park 9 a.m. Friday morning to discuss needs for any additional assistance.
Access to Pineview Reservoir is also restricted so aerial crews can pull water from the reservoir in their efforts to fight the blaze. Planes carrying retardant and helicopters carrying buckets have also responded. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.
BREAKING: Crews are responding to a fire in Liberty, stay tuned for details. #LibertyFire pic.twitter.com/9TU5DLMdFg
— Weber County (@WeberCounty) August 30, 2018
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.