<p>Heavy winds have spread the Brian Head Fire in southern Utah as the blaze, which started on June 17, grew to 53,000 acres</a> on Wednesday, June 28.</p><p>More than 1,600 firefighters and a fleet of helicopters and tanks battled the flames through areas of beetle-killed timber on Wednesday morning, according to local reports</a>.</p><p>Some locals have blamed beetle-killed trees for the large extent of the fire. On Tuesday, Republican Utah state Rep. Mike Noel blamed</a> federal mismanagement and “tree-hugger” environmentalists for the fire, which he says could have been avoided by more logging. Credit: Instagram/journey2bro via Storyful</p><br />
