Twenty eastern Utah families were evacuated Wednesday afternoon and at least four cabins have been destroyed as a fast-moving forest fire charred 4,000 acres near here.
And about the same time, firefighters near Salt Lake City declared the 5,600-acre fire in Emigration Canyon contained with full control expected Thursday at 6 p.m. Canyon homeowners have planned a thank-you party for firefighters between 7 and 10 p.m. at the fire camp near the Little Dell Dam construction site in Parleys Canyon.Thursday morning reports indicated seven new fires throughout northern and eastern Utah are gaining speed, but fires in Emigration Canyon, Powder Mountain and at Wallsburg near Deer Creek Reservoir are mostly in the mop-up stage.
The Whiterocks evacuations were ordered after a fire that may have been man-caused was reported about 2 p.m. and spread quickly through sage brush, pinion and juniper trees on Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, state and private land Wednesday, said Merle Young, fire information officer.
Four seasonal cabins, one trailer and several barns and other out buildings had been destroyed by Thursday. Fire officials had received unconfirmed reports of other structure losses, Young said.
Three air tankers were diverted from fires along the Wasatch Front to the eastern Utah fire Wednesday and two were to return Thursday.
"We have two confirmed buildings damaged and others are involved," Young said. One crew and a bulldozer worked the fire through the night Wednesday. Four additional 20-person crews have been called to the fire along with an overhead team from Oregon that will administer firefighting efforts.
"The fire was moving very quickly yesterday. We had very high winds and low humidity. It took off in a hurry," Young said.
Six other new fires were also reported Wednesday afternoon.
_The largest, called the Mt. Ogden fire, has consumed between 200 and 300 acres three miles east of Ogden. It also was sending lots of smoke into the Ogden area Thursday morning, said dispatcher Wendy Evans at the Interagency Fire Center in Salt Lake City.
Three fire crews and an overhead team had been requested as of Thursday morning.
The Mt. Ogden fire is believed to be of human origin because no lightning was reported in the area. Forest Service spokesman Dick Pine said officials questioned individuals leaving the area after the fire broke out, but there had been no citations or arrests by mid-day Thursday, contrary to some reports.
_The White Pine Lake fire 13 miles west of Bear Lake was also reported Wednesday and had consumed 200 acres of heavy timber.
_The Pit and Page fire 15 miles east of Kamas near the Mirror Lake highway has burned more than 20 acres and had four crews battling it as of Thursday morning.
_The White Pine fire consumed less than five acres Wednesday near Moffit Peak before being contained later in the afternoon.
_The Fence Fire on the Utah-Wyoming border 20 miles southeast of Evanston had consumed 15 acres.
_The Wild Horse fire had burned 40 acres of lodgepole pine in Hells Canyon on the Roosevelt Ranger District of the Ashley National Forest as of late Wednesday, Young said. No structures are threatened there, but winds have caused problems for firefighters so far.
Closer to Salt Lake City, officials said firefighters are essentially mopping up other fires.
_The 5,600-acre Affleck Park fire in Emigration Canyon was contained Wednesday.
_Residents of mountain housing developments in Pinecrest and Killyon canyons are back in their homes, struggling only with occasional power interruptions while Utah Power & Light Co. crews airlift power poles in to replace existing poles and lines damaged by the fire.
_High winds are still causing problems at the Powder Mountain fire, where the blaze has been declared controlled twice, then the control status abandoned after wind pushed the flames across fire lines.
The fire was under control as recently as Wednesday afternoon, but that status had been abandoned by Thursday morning. The blaze has consumed 2,400 acres since Aug. 24.
_An 855-acre fire southeast of Deer Creek Reservoir was controlled Wednesday, but the control status there was to be reconfirmed Thursday before being made official.
_Salt Lake County crews responded to a flareup Wednesday of a Monday fire that destroyed a cabin in Lambs Canyon. Embers from a wood burning stove are blamed for the initial fire there.