Heavy winds have spread the Brian Head Fire in southern Utah as the blaze, which started on June 17, grew to 53,000 acres on Wednesday, June 28.

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.

Some locals have blamed beetle-killed trees for the large extent of the fire. On Tuesday, Republican Utah state Rep. Mike Noel blamed federal mismanagement and “tree-hugger” environmentalists for the fire, which he says could have been avoided by more logging. Credit: Instagram/journey2bro via Storyful