A small Summit County town has been ordered to evacuate following a fast-growing wildfire off Interstate 80.
According to Summit County spokesman Derek Siddoway, the fire started in the top of a privately-owned barn in Wanship sometime before 4 p.m. on Sunday. An investigation has been launched to figure out the exact cause of the initial fire.
After starting up in the old barn, it didn’t take long for the fire to spread to nearby sheds and patches of dry grass. According to an update provided by Utah Wildfire Info, the fire was “growing rapidly.”
A few hours later at around 6:40 p.m., a mandatory evacuation order was put out by Summit County for residents in the immediate vicinity of 30042 Old Lincoln Highway, who were instructed to head over to a temporary shelter.
By 8 p.m., the fire was 40% contained at 40 acres. As of Sunday night, evacuation orders are still in place by county officials.
