Sunday afternoon, the South Summit Middle School auditorium in Kamas was two-thirds full with concerned citizens, anxious for answers and information on the 30,000 acre Yellow Lake Fire burning through the nearby forest.The community meeting, hosted by officials directly involved in fighting the fire, was also livestreamed on the U. S. Forest Service Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and Ashley National Forest Facebook accounts. Between the two, virtual attendance fluctuated around 450 viewers.An update on the fire wasn’t much different than Saturday’s update: the Yellow Lake Fire is currently at 29,730 acres with 23% containment, primarily on the west side of the footprint. Personnel count is at 848 officials and fire fighters.Key officials introduced themselves, and gave a brief message on their work with this wildfire. A map of the fire on screen sectioned off areas labeled with letters, which were referred to as Mike, Oscar, Foxtrot, Charlie, Sierra, Hotel, etc.Then about 30 minutes ran for questions pertinent to the group.How worried should we be? Why close the forest north of Mirror Lake Highway? What can the community do to help? Do we know the cause of the fire? How is the smoke impacting what is safe to do?Dave Whittekiend, forest supervisor for Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, primarily answered questions. “A lot of effort is being put into this. Honestly, this was something we’ve been worried about for years,” Whittekiend said. “But the folks who are out there, the firefighters, all the resources, they are giving it every thing they have, and they are doing great work.”He talked about how they’d been working to reduce fuels in the area in past years with wildfire mitigation work like pile burning. “This is what we’ve known could happen someday. It’s odd that it’s happening in October, but that’s that’s kind of the world we’re in,” he said.With 23% containment primarily on the west side, officials said they’re working northeast to come around the corner and cut the fire off, especially with concerns of winds that may blow the fire further north.How long will it take to be fully contained? Hard to say, was the general response, because it’s condition dependent. Predictions showing winds from the south were the primary concern leading to the closure of areas north of Mirror Lake Highway, or Highway 150, Whittekiend said.As for what started the fire, they do know it is human caused and under investigation, he said.People were encouraged to pay attention to updates from local officials in case of evacuation notices, and to avoid spending time outside when the smoke sits low, especially in the evenings.Though fire crews are not taking any form of donations, the community was instructed to donate to shelters for people who were already evacuated, or to other organizations working to support firefighters.The live stream ended and people in the auditorium were invited to interact with maps and ask any specific questions to personnel one-on-one.The full recording of the meeting can be found on Facebook on both U.S. Forest Service Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and Ashley National Forest accounts.The post Public concerns addressed during Yellow Lake Fire community meeting appeared first on Park Record.