According to a post on the park’s Facebook page around 1:46 p.m. Tuesday, the park was closed due to the fire. A subsequent Facebook post at 9:03 a.m. Wednesday announced that the park was open again for visitors — though it warned motorists to slow down because fire crews were still on the scene.

The fire was discovered around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, according to Utah Fire Info, which posted on X, formerly Twitter, about six hours later that the fire was fully contained after burning 59 acres.

Kelly Wickens — public information officer for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands — told the Standard-Examiner on Tuesday that the fire was burning between the visitor’s center and where the park’s causeway enters the island. The blaze was being addressed by a host of local, state and federal firefighting agencies.

“The visitor’s center was evacuated but is no longer threatened,” she said. “Resources are on-scene. We have aircraft working the fire along with ground resources (and) firefighters securing the line.”

Reached Wednesday around noon, Wickens said flames got within approximately 40 feet of the visitor’s center but it did not sustain damage.

The visitor’s center currently is closed to the public for ongoing renovations and expansion, according to Devan Chavez, associate director of Utah State Parks.

“There were some visitors maybe hiking around taking some pictures with the bison statues at the overlook,” he said. “The people that were evacuated were state parks staff as well as construction personnel.”

He added that campers and visitors to other parts of the island also were evacuated for safety concerns and to make way for firefighting resources.

“A lot of Antelope Island staff have been corralling different visitors, campers, RVs altogether and getting them safe passage through some roads that weren’t necessarily impacted as bad by the fire and not going to impact the firefighting efforts,” he said. “They’re being let out a little bit at a time, but right now we’re not letting anyone back to the island that isn’t a staff member or acting firefighter.”

Wickens said Wednesday that a fire investigator had determined the fire was started by human actions — though the exact cause is still being looked into.

No animals are known to have died as a result of the fire, she said, but it does represent a slight loss of a food source for the park’s bison.

Currently, much of Northern Utah is under Stage 1 fire restriction, including Weber County. However, Antelope Island State Park’s website notes that the park is under a Stage 2 restriction.

“No fires (campfire, stove fire, charcoal, barbecues, etc.) are allowed,” the notice reads. “Devices with shutoff valves (pressurized liquid or gas) are permitted when used in an area at least 3 feet from flammable material.”

Given the high potential for wildfires, Wickens offered this advice to Utahns:

“With the Pioneer (Day) weekend, just use your fire sense. Do your part, be smart and don’t start a human-caused wildfire. We have enough right now,” she said. “With our conditions so hot and dry right now, it is time to consider everything we do while we’re recreating. … It’s just tinderbox dry. Lots of grass, lots of fine fuels. A little spark just takes off.”