Broad Fire in Weber Canyon grows to 134 acres, 10% containment reported Sunday
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- A BAe 146 air tanker drops fire retardant on the Broad Fire in Weber Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. Several airborne assets were used to fight the fire, most of which occurred on steep terrain. (Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner)
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- Smoke from the Broad Fire rises out of Weber Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner)
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- Flames rise up from the Broad Fire on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner)
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- A firefighting helicopter carries water towards the Broad Fire in Weber Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner)
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- A BAe 146 air tanker drops fire retardant on the Broad Fire in Weber Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner)
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- A firefighting helicopter drops water on the Broad Fire in Weber Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner)
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- The Broad Fire continues to burn in Weber Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. By late-afternoon Saturday, the fire had reached an estimated size of 30 acres. (Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner)
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- Smoke from the Broad Fire rises out of Weber Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner)
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- Firefighters replenish water as they fight the Broad Fire in Weber Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner)
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- A Utah Department of Transportation camera captures the early stages of the Broad Fire in Weber Canyon on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Image supplied, Utah Department of Transportation
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- Smoke continues to rise from a hot spot on the Broad Fire in Weber Canyon on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026.
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- Airborne firefighting operations continued against the Broad Fire on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026.
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- As of Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, the Broad Fire had consumed an estimated 134 acres in Weber Canyon, the majority of it on the north side of I-84.
The Broad Fire in Weber Canyon has burned an estimated 134 acres since it started Saturday afternoon, but crews were making strides towards dousing the fire Sunday.
U.S. Forest Service Public Information Officer Sierra Hellstrom told the Standard-Examiner, as of 5 p.m. Sunday, containment is at 10% after an active night of fire on northern walls of Weber Canyon.
“Overnight the fire remained pretty active and was highly visible from Uintah as well as around (Highway) 89 and (Interstate) 84,” she said. “We woke up to smoke coming off of the mountain this morning and night shift did say that there was fire and visible flames throughout the entire evening. We had really hot temperatures last night — it never got below 70 — so the overnight recovery was really low. But throughout today’s shift, things started to cool down, the clouds rolled in and we’re actually seeing very minimal fire activity at this time.
She said containment has largely been on the fire’s southern flank between the Weber River and Interstate 84, but the 10% figure is likely to climb in the coming hours.
“The south perimeter, we do have 10% containment on the Davis County portion that’s on the south side of Highway 84,” she said. “We’re hoping with the work that the crews have done today, we anticipate having an increase in containment this evening. The crews have been able to make really good success with the heat reduced and the cooler temperatures along the western perimeter closest to Uintah.”
Sunday evening also brought chances of rain and a small storm system which Hellstrom said the fire crews will be keeping an eye on.
“The biggest concern right now is with the weather coming in,” she said. “It’s great to have cooler temperatures and the possibility of precipitation, but those also bring their own set of challenges. First and foremost, thunderstorms come in with lightning.
That in and of itself can not only chase firefighters off the mountain — we don’t want firefighters up in a dangerous situation — but also has potential to start its own fires. … As well as with storms and the lower barometric pressure, that also brings in a higher probability of like swirling and gusty winds as winds often accompany thunderstorms.”
She said that fire crews are likely to be working on the Broad Fire for at least the next two to three days. So far, Rocky Mountain Power transmission lines and the Union Pacific Railroad’s lines through Weber Canyon have been the only major infrastructure in the immediate path of the fire. I-84, which was closed much of the day Saturday, was opened to a single lane of traffic in each direction by late evening and remained in this configuration Sunday evening. No evacuations have been called for at this point and a cause remains under investigation.
Hellstrom said that no injuries have been reported as a direct result of the fire, but noted on Saturday that several traffic accidents had happened as a result of distracted driving around the fire.
“We’ve actually had some car accidents with people not paying attention coming into the area, and that’s caused a few accidents,” she said Saturday. “So we’re having secondary issues with car accidents because of it.”
One fatal crash was reported among traffic caused by the fire on I-84.
Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Kate Van Roosendaal told the Standard-Examiner Sunday that a motorcyclist was killed in a four-vehicle crash near milepost 98 on I-84 around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
She said the accident remains under investigation and that the motorcyclist has not been identified at this time.
Hellstrom said distracted driving remained a major issue in the fire area on Sunday and that drivers need to maintain patience.
“I actually almost had a truck pulling some vehicles on a trailer, run into the back of me driving slow through the slower traffic going up the canyon,” she said. ” Traffic is going slower moving through there because there’s a lot of vehicles, there’s a lot of fire equipment, there’s a lot of crews. … We’re asking the public to pay attention as you come into that area and just be prepared to slow down, be prepared to merge and just use all sorts of caution.”
Additionally, she said there were issues early on with members of the public getting too close to the fire.
“We’re seeing members of the public hiking and riding their dirt bikes up into the fire over here on the Uintah side, and it’s been extremely scary,” she said Saturday. “We’re having to divert crews to get people out of the fire area, so we’re asking the public to please stay out of the area.”
Hellstrom said there hadn’t been any incursions reported throughout the day on Sunday.
She added that crews have established a perimeter around the fire and the next 12-24 hours will be about holding that line.
“What we’re doing moving forward is continuing to enhance and strengthen that line and work on any hot spots that threaten that line,” she said. “We’ve got four crews hiked up in today and we’ll continue to have those tomorrow, working that perimeter and trying to just continue until we get full containment.”
Hellstrom said it’s still important for the public to avoid the area and not use drones in the vicinity of the fire.
