- Firefighters urge people to avoid active fire zones after a breach near the U.
- A person was seen in the Bonneville Fire area despite trail closures.
SALT LAKE CITY — State and federal firefighters are reminding people to stay away from active fire zones after coming across someone who was walking around a burn scar near the University of Utah this week.
A person was spotted walking around the Bonneville Fire area directly above University of Utah Hospital, U.S. Forest Service officials said on Wednesday. A fire flare-up was seen a "short distance from where this person was standing" shortly after the photo was taken, prompting firefighters to ask him to leave, officials added.
While Utah Fire Info said in a Facebook post that the fire was 95% contained as of Wednesday night, officials pointed out that it's still an active fire, adding that they also continue to receive 911 calls about it.
"There is continued heat, fire and smoke within the interior of the fire. ... Containment only refers to the perimeter, that the fire will not move," they wrote in a post through Utah Fire Info. "It does not mean there isn't still fire. Please do not call 911 about this fire."
Utah Fire Info stated an overnight infrared flight on Tuesday revealed the remaining hot spots, only one of which was on the perimeter of the blaze. It may take firefighters "another day or two" to finalize containment in this area, according to Utah Fire Info.
The person who was seen in the photo was not a lone occurrence, either. Firefighters say they have seen multiple people ignoring trail closures that Salt Lake City has placed in the area and walking into the burn scar.
"It is incredibly frustrating to take firefighters off the line working to stop and talk to the public in an area they shouldn't be," they added. "Please help us help the firefighters and stay out for your own safety."
While several nearby trails remain closed, Utah Fire Info stated the City Creek Trail will reopen on Thursday, as the fire does not pose a threat in that area.
The human-caused fire has burned more than 550 acres since it started over the weekend.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall shared Utah Fire Info's post online, urging residents to "stay out of the Bonneville Fire area and OFF closed trails." She also urged people to consider donating to the Red Cross of Central and Southern Utah to help residents affected by the Iron and Cottonwood fires, which she said have been far more devastating than the Bonneville Fire.
"Our fellow Utahns in Eureka and near Beaver have been less fortunate this week as they had to evacuate their homes amid devastating wildfires," she wrote.
