Yellow Lake Fire public information officer Jeff Armstrong said there have been some recent changes in the fire’s behavior, though the major challenges remain: unseasonably warm, dry and windy conditions in a national forest filled with beetle-killed timber.As the 24,000-acre wildfire burns on a few miles away, Mirror Lake Highway remains open. The area to the roadway’s north stretching to Weber Canyon is what is closed. Armstrong explained the remote area is not a friend of cell reception and a potential rescue in the region would prove resource-consuming.Suppression efforts continue, though they are complicated with warmer temperatures uncharacteristic for this late in the season. Winds have also dried out fuel sources, and timber in the area affected by beetle rot provide fuel for the flames. The topography of the area is also a factor, as it isn’t easily navigable and firefighters can’t easily access each point of the fire.Primary growth areas have been along the the fire’s north finger and northeast toward Mirror Lake Highway.Thursday evening, firefighting officials held a town hall meeting in Tabiona High School Thursday at 6 p.m. on the blaze’s progression as well as instructions on how to prepare for a possible evacuation and what precautions and preparations residents can take.If people are looking to escape the smoke or are concerned for their livestock as the area remains at “set” for possible evacuation, the Duschene County Event Center has 44 RV hookup spots and is ready to accept animals. People can call 435-738-0196 for more information.Susan Eickoff, a deputy director for natural resources in the Intermountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service, said that while all fires are difficult, this one is particularly tricky given the region’s unseasonally warm weather.On Wednesday morning, California’s Interagency Incident Management Team 2 took over, which she said is good news.“The first team did a great job, although they were smaller,” she said. “This team comes in bringing a lot of resources, lots of experience and skill.”Pat Russell, a fire operations specialist, talked about the unfavorability of a forest fire at this time of year. With other wildfires throughout the country and hurricanes hitting the east coast, he said resources can get a bit stretched but are currently in good condition.Paul Corrigan, the assigned air resource adviser, also warned people of the less immediate but still very real dangers of the amount of smoke blowing into the community. He said that each day, Hanna gets about four hours of good air and Tabiona gets around six.“The rest of the day is mostly unhealthy,” he said. “Cold air flows down the river corridor almost every night, and when there’s a bunch of smoke up there, that’s what it brings with it, unfortunately.”The resulting air quality, he emphasized, is far worse than what communities would see in wintertime inversions, and that can come with potential health impacts, especially for older folks, very young children and people with pre-existing heart or lung conditions.“Avoid it if at all possible,” he said. Speaking more toward the immediate danger of a fire, Duschene County Fire Marshal Joshua Phillips gave an overview of the ready, set, go evacuation program adopted by Utah.  He said people can always prepare by keeping their properties and lawns and taking other appropriate education opportunities.“The second part is when this happens,” he said. He mentioned how everyone in Hanna is at the “set” part of the program. When it’s time to go, it’s time to go.Those with cabins at Duschene’s north fork have hit that point, and Jerry Martinez with California’s Team 2 laid out a plan for people wanting to get back to their property.He is working to collect information from individuals in those situations — names, when they want to return, what they’re doing, number of vehicles — to funnel the to the appropriate entity.If it comes time for the area’s locals to evacuate, they were asked to leave water sources available.The most recent acreage and containment update from Friday morning was that the blaze is at 23,987 acres and is 18% contained. The post Challenges remain supressing Yellow Lake Fire, Duschene residents briefed on precautions appeared first on Park Record.