St. George • Two days after lightning sparked the Kolob Terrace Fire in a remote area of Zion National Park, firefighters are still struggling to gain the upper hand against the blaze that continues to grow in size.
About 40 wildland firefighters are fighting the fire that erupted Tuesday afternoon from an apparent lightning strike, according to National Park Service officials. A local resident reported the fire at about 3 p.m. in the Hop Valley area of Zion National Park, prompting the closure of the 6.6-mile Hop Valley Trail that links Kolob Terrace Road to the La Verkin Creek Trail.
Since then, according to park officials, the fire has grown from between 3 and 5 acres to roughly 24 acres. Despite the fire, the Kolob Terrace Road that connects state Route 9 with Kolob Reservoir is not threatened and remains open. To date, there have been no other closures or evacuations, according to Amanda Rowland, public information officer for Zion National Park.
Elsewhere in southern Utah, firefighters have been successful in tamping down the Silver King, Deer Springs and Graff Point fires that have torched a combined 31,500 acres. The lightning-caused Silver King Fire, which flared up in mountains several miles west of Marysvale in Piute County on July 5, is 83% contained, according to the Utah Fire Information website.
The Deer Creek Fire north of Kanab, now 95% contained, is also losing steam. So is the Graff Point Fire in the mountains above Cedar City, which sparked on July 15 from an apparent lighting strike and is now 85% contained.
“They are pretty close to wrapping that up,” Kayli Guild, prevention and fire communications coordinator with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, said about the Graff Point Fire. “They are doing a lot of rehab, making sure any areas that are impacted …. by the fire are taken care of and not being left in disarray.”
Thus far, 637 wildfires, 448 of which were caused by humans, have burned 41,106 acres in Utah during 2024.