CURRENT SITUATION:
Outstanding work by the crews has caused a large increase in containment on the Left Fork Fire. Firefighters have been actively engaged and have taken ownership of this fire, wanting to see it to the end. Morale is high with the progress being made towards full containment.

The rain throughout the week cooled the fire, but also caused unsafe conditions for crews to be working through the precipitation. Yesterday’s thunderstorms missed the fire area, which provided firefighters more opportunity to work towards containment. There will likely continue to be lingering storms and moisture move through the area today.

Firefighters will continue to mop up and secure remaining areas of heat on the west flank of the fire. Thus far, the perimeter continues to hold and fire managers have seen no acreage growth in days. The Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is still being utilized to detect hot spots. Very few were identified, and all within the current areas of known heat. Crews were able to extinguish these throughout the shift yesterday and will continue to do so today. 
 
EVACUATIONS: 
No evacuations, lifted from Bryce Woodlands Estates. Residents should sign up for the Emergency Notification System alerts: https://member.everbridge.net/892807736721500/login)

ROAD CLOSURES:
Kanab Creek Road system, See forest closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1036646.pdf@UtahFireInfowww.utahfireinfo.gov@UtahWildfire#LeftForkFirehttps://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8169/
 
RESOURCES:
Engines: 25
Water Tenders: 13 
Crews: 22 
Helicopters: 3 
Dozers: 1 
Total Personnel: 681
Cooperating Agencies: USDA Forest Service; DOI Bureau of Land Management; State of Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands; NPS Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks; and Garfield and Kane County Sheriff’s Office. 

CURRENT SITUATION:
Containment should continue to slowly increase, as crews use the moisture received from recent storms to suppress the fire. Showers continued to cool off the area, providing a break in fire behavior for the crews around most of the perimeter. Cloud cover has been fairly consistent over the fire as well.  

Despite the recent precipitation, fuels remain critically dry. Some creeping and torching is still being observed on the western flank of the fire. While this is mostly internal, fire managers are taking extra caution to assure these heat sources do not spot across the current fire edge. Aircraft is being used when appropriate to provide water drops for these areas.  

As another tool to assist firefighters, a UAS (Unmanned Air System) is being successfully utilized in identifying hot spots. This close proximity infrared machine helps firefighters locate heat sources so they can identify and extinguish them. Because the sun causes the ground to rise in temperature it makes it more difficult to identify fire heat from what is convective heat from the sun, these UAS operators begin their shift before sunrise for a more optimal reading.  
 
EVACUATIONS:
No evacuations, lifted from Bryce Woodlands Estates. Residents should sign up for the Emergency Notification System alerts: https://member.everbridge.net/892807736721500/login)  

CLOSURES:
Kanab Creek Road system, See forest closure: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1036646.pdf  
 
STATUS:
Start Date: May 9, 2022
Incident Type: Wildland
Fire Cause: Human
Location: Dixie National Forest, 10 miles SW of Bryce Canyon City in the Kanab Creek drainage
Size: 4,254 acres
Containment: 50%
Estimated Containment: Aug 1, 2022
Injuries: 0
Structures Threatened: 134
Structures Damaged/Destroyed: 0

At the recommendation of Fire Managers of the Left Fork Fire, the Kane County Sheriff will lift evacuations of the Bryce Woodlands Estates at 8am on June 25, 2022. The closure will remain in place and manned by a Deputy until 8am, at which time the roadblock will be removed and residents will be allowed back in. After that time, the road will move to a soft closure, and will not be blocked or manned by the Sheriff’s office.

This recommendation was made by the Incident Management Team based on current fire behavior and predicted weather. The fire received moisture over the last shift, and the reduced temperatures and higher humidity have allowed firefighters to make progress around the perimeter. Residents should be aware that the fire is still active, and they should continue following the updates disseminated by the Team to stay informed of the current situation. Residents are also encouraged to sign up for the Emergency Notification System for the county (https://member.everbridge.net/892807736721500/login).

Residents should note that a Structure Assessment Team will be present in the area for the next few days. The Team will be cooperating with local fire agencies to assess structures in the area for defensible space and safety. This will help with the current fire and future potential incidents in a community that is highly susceptible to wildland fire.

As containment slowly starts to increase, crews are focusing on reducing areas that still retain heat. With the erratic winds that occur in this area, it’s important firefighters focus on areas with spotting potential. Water is being shuttled via water tenders to the firefighters on different portions of the perimeter to assist them in this process. Saw work and falling trees continues as well to minimize hazardous trees in the area. Crews will thin the vegetation, and chippers are being brought in to disperse the fuel loading. The western portion of the fire still contains the most heat, with timber stringers that are receptible to burning. Fire managers believe they will have had the entire perimeter assessed by the end of shift today. The Structure Protection group will finish their assessment and provide the findings to the local fire managers and Bryce Woodlands HOA. This will inform the community of how to take action to help make their homes defensible for future incidents.

Monsoonal moisture moved through the fire the last 48 hours. While not enough precipitation to extinguish the fire, it slowed the fire enough to allow firefighters to go more direct along the perimeter. There is a chance of afternoon showers again today, and Fire Managers believe the weather will greatly assist with increasing containment over the fire area. 

At the recommendation of Fire Managers of the Left Fork Fire, the Kane County Sheriff will lift evacuations of the Bryce Woodlands Estates at 8am on Saturday, June 25, 2022. The closure will remain in place and manned by a Deputy until 8:00 am, at which time the roadblock will be removed and residents will be allowed back in. After that time, the road will move to a soft closure and will not be blocked or manned by the Sheriff’s office. https://www.facebook.com/KCSOUTAH

Great Basin Team 6 Type 2 Incident Management Team took command of the Left Fork fire this morning. Consistent with the last few shifts, the northern and southern flanks of the fire have seen little to no growth. Crews continue to mop up and extinguish any heat sources or smokes, and are making progress towards containment in those areas.
  
The fire received about a quarter inch of rain overnight which will greatly help firefighters make progress on the fire. Due to more accurate mapping from the infrared (IR) flight, the acreage decreased slightly.