Bonneville Fire near University of Utah settles overnight, now 5% contained
Originally Published: 22 JUN 26 14:07 ET
By Spencer Burt
Click here for updates on this story
SALT LAKE CITY (KSTU) -- Conditions that have fueled the Bonneville Fire near the University of Utah campus died down overnight, allowing crews to gain some containment as of Monday morning.
The latest estimate places the fire at 495 acres, with state wildfire officials sharing that they have achieved 5 percent containment.
"Air and ground crews made strong progress [Sunday] on the fire. Overnight, increased cloud cover and humidity helped moderate fire behavior, resulting in minimal activity," the Salt Lake City Fire Department said.
Despite the easing of conditions, a "READY" evacuation notice — the lowest in the system of "READY, SET, GO" evacuation preparedness criteria — remains in effect for the Arlington Hills neighborhood between 11th Avenue and Tomahawk Drive.
"READY means THERE IS CURRENTLY NO IMMEDIATE THREAT, but conditions could change quickly. Residents should take steps now to prepare in case an evacuation becomes necessary," SLCFD wrote on X.
Officials added that although the fire did spread northwest, it is still south of Dry Gulch Drainage, east of the Bonneville Shoreline, and north of Red Butte Canyon.
Hiking trails in City Creek Canyon, Red Butte Canyon, Bonneville Shoreline, and Dry Gulch are closed.
A shelter-in-place order originally in place on Saturday evening was lifted for the entire university campus.
The University of Utah Hospital remained operating as usual and was accepting walk-in patients. Ambulances were directed to other hospitals in the area for a time, although that order has also been lifted.
"The campus community will continue to see fire on the hillside and experience smoke in the neighborhoods throughout the night," school officials wrote. "Some residual smoke may continue to impact the health campus and student housing as the fire burns further into the foothills. Be cautious when opening windows."
Fire officials initially reported that Red Butte Garden and the Natural History Museum were to be closed Sunday due to wildfire risk. However, both locations were later given clearance to open to patrons at their normal business hours with caution.
Officials are asking the public to avoid the area, and also to not fly drones nearby, as doing so can interfere with helicopters and planes that are used for firefighting purposes.
There have been a few road closures in the far east portion of the campus. Several hiking trails in the area are also closed to the public.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
