St. George • Despite a Red Flag warning that brought hot temperatures, high winds and low humidity to southern Utah, firefighters were able to hold some fires in check and douse others over the weekend.
On Sunday, roughly 100 firefighters and three helicopters battled the Kolob Fire near Zion National Park which that has destroyed two unidentified structures and forced the temporary evacuation of 300 nearby residents. The blaze was sparked Saturday afternoon by a camping trailer near Virgin, just off Kolob Terrace Road.
As of Monday morning, according to state fire officials, firefighters had kept the blaze from spreading beyond 600 acres and had the fire 40 percent contained. In addition, the evacuation order for the area has been lifted and residents have been allowed to return home.
“By the end of shift today, [firefighters] anticipate they will be able to increase the amount of containment … unless there is a crazy windstorm,” said Kayli Guild, prevention and fire communications coordinator with the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
Fire officials say Dalton Wash Road from state Route 9 to Open Sky Zion Resort is now open but remains closed beyond that point. Due to the progress made on the fire, combined with the nonaggressive nature of the blaze, the number of firefighters battling the Kolob Fire has been reduced to 84 and the number of helicopters has been cut from three to two. There are still 15 fire engines on the scene, according to Guild.
Elsewhere, the lightning-caused Kolob Terrace Fire that sparked last Tuesday and torched 25 acres in the remote Hop Valley Trail area of Zion National Park has been fully contained, although the 6.6-mile trail remains closed. Firefighters have also extinguished the 10-acre Tank Fire, which erupted Sunday afternoon due to a blown tire from a motor vehicle and briefly closed southbound Interstate 15 near Enoch.
Guild said about 14 new fires, each covering 10 acres or less, flared up over 24 hours during the weekend, all of which were quickly contained or extinguished despite the Red Flag Warning in place.
“Whenever a new fire like the Tank Fire popped up, we already had resources in the area [from existing fires] and firefighters were able to respond really quickly,” Guild said. “That is what saved us from having one of the new fires doing some damage.”
Most of the larger fires that erupted in southern Utah this month are fully contained or close to being extinguished. The Silver King Fire in Piute County which has incinerated more than 18,000 acres in the mountains above Marysvale is 89% contained. In addition, the Graff Point Fire in the mountains above Cedar City is 86% contained and the Third Canyon Fire in Iron County is 80% contained, according to according to the Utah Fire Information website.
Thus far, 680 wildfires – 468 of which were caused by humans – have destroyed about 66 square miles this wildfire season.
