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 A monsoonal weather pattern has been over southern Utah for the past week.  The fire has seen minimal rain fall on the lower elevations and some measurable precipitation at the upper elevations.  The precipitation along with successful work from the firefighters has decreased the complexity of the fire.  Central Utah Team-Madsen will pass command to a smaller organization, a local Type 4 Incident command, on Monday morning.  This smaller group will continue to monitor all sections of the fire, and complete rehabilitation of a small section of dozer line.  Two

Today, the Fishlake National Forest issued a new smaller area closure for the Halfway Hill Fire.  This order opens the Paiute 01 Trail, while Chalk Creek (FR-100) and Sand Rock (FR-103) remain closed.  For a more detailed description and full area closure refer to https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/8215/ .

Yesterday, minimal smoke was visible from Fillmore due to the cloud cover and moisture in the area. Monsoonal moisture will remain in place through Tuesday, resulting in scattered showers and thunderstorms each afternoon/evening. A drying and slight warming trend will develop late Tuesday through Thursday.

The Central Utah Type 3 Incident Management Team smoothly and successfully took command of the fire at 6 a.m. on July 24th, 2022. Several resources left camp today, leaving a reduced number of personnel and equipment in place to monitor the fire and continue suppression efforts.

 Today is the final shift for Great Basin Team 4 on the Halfway Hill Fire.  Team members will travel to their homes in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming.  On behalf of the whole team and all resources assigned to the Halfway Hill Fire, thank you for your support during our assignment.

 Dry and very hot conditions have returned to central Utah, but the containment lines on Halfway Hill Fire are holding and the fire has had minimal spread in the past week.  The successful work of firefighters has decreased the complexity of the fire.  Great Basin Team 4 will pass command to a smaller organization, a Type 3 Incident Management Team, on Sunday morning.  The Type 3 Team and assigned firefighting resources will continue to monitor all sections of the fire, take suppression actions where necessary, and assess the potential for increased fire behavior

 Yesterday, firefighters on the Halfway Hill Fire again attempted to conduct backburning along Horse Hollow Ridge.  However, rain from the previous night raised humidity and dampened the vegetation just enough to make ignition difficult.  Fire managers decided to shift tactics.  Fire crews began working directly along the fire perimeter on the northern edge, building fireline where necessary and removing vegetation to limit the potential for the fire spread.  More accurate mapping of these portions of the fire led to a reduction in acreage.

 The number of people working on the Halfway Hill Fire downsized yesterday as fire crews were released to help other fires in the region. Tuesday’s fire activity was minimal. Additional firefighting resources will reach their 14-day assignment limit soon and be released to return home for time off before they are again available to assist with new or existing fires.  Team 4 also anticipates being released this weekend, as the complexity of the fire is reduced to a level that can be managed by local fire managers.

Firefighters continue to make great progress on the Halfway Hill Fire, bringing containment to 46%.  Despite gusty winds yesterday, fire growth was minimal.  Fewer storms and weaker winds will come through the Fillmore area today.  As we approach the end of the week, elevated fire weather conditions will return, with temperatures climbing throughout the week and stronger winds possible for Friday.

Sunday’s weather “was a tale of two days,” according to Mike Seaman, incident meteorologist. By 9 a.m., temperatures on the lower elevation parts of the Halfway Hill Fire were already back in the 90s. Then the mid-day storms moved over the fire, in some places scattering less than one-tenth of an inch of rain with wind gusts of over 30 mph. The bulk of the storm skirted just to the west of the fire, but the cloud cover and precipitation lowered temperatures to the 70s.