JOLIET - Fire officials reported Monday morning the Harris Fire near Joliet has reached 45 percent containment.
Fire crews on Monday were expected to work on remaining hotspots and conduct mop-up operations. Full containment of the wildfire is estimated to be reached on Tuesday. There are 116 personnel on the fire, according to the most recent update.
"And then also we’ll be starting mop up. That’s when they start at the outside of the perimeter, and really extinguish any hotspots that are left and make sure its dead out from the outside in," says Kate Wilson, the public information office for the Harris fire.
The fire located two miles northeast of Joliet started last Thursday and forced some evacuations. All evacuations and road closures have since been lifted. The fire is estimated to have burned 2,624 acres and a cause is unkown.
"We are asking that members of the public still stay out of these areas because fire fighting continues, and emergency vehicles are driving though, so we’re trying to just really limit traffic," said Wilson when asked about public access around the fire.
A Red Lodge firefighter was severely burned Friday night and flown to a Salt Lake City hospital.
