ST. GEORGE – Firefighters responded to a small, human-caused brush fire that ignited on the west side of a hill behind Fountain Heights Apartments on River Road in St. George Wednesday afternoon.
Just after 2 p.m., firefighters were alerted to the presence of a small but growing brush fire on the western slope of the hill behind Fountain Heights, located at 3434 S. River Road. St. George Fire Capt. Jason Whipple said the fire was human-caused, but he didn’t have details as to what was used to ignite the small blaze.
Firefighters were able to quickly knock down the fire that Whipple said had the potential to spread.
“The crews got here pretty quick and put a fast attack on (the fire) and were able to get it extinguished,” he said.
“We’re pretty fortunate it was in this canyon,” Whipple added, noting that growth around the fire was relatively sparse and there were trails on either side that could have acted as possible fire breaks.
With the recent excessive dryness of the local climate, multiple state and federal agencies have issued fire restrictions throughout Southern Utah and the surrounding area. Restrictions on fireworks have also been issued by some area municipalities.
Tuesday night, lightning strikes ignited fires on the northwestern side of Washington County and near the Enterprise Reservoir.
“This is what we’re going to be looking at for the rest of the summer,” Whipple said.
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Firefighters tend to hotspots left over from a small, human-caused brush fire on a hillside near Fountain Heights Apartments, St. George, Utah, July 2, 2014 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Firefighters tend to hotspots left over from a small, human-caused brush fire on a hillside near Fountain Heights Apartments, St. George, Utah, July 2, 2014 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Firefighters tend to hotspots left over from a small, human-caused brush fire on a hillside near Fountain Heights Apartments, St. George, Utah, July 2, 2014 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
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This is not the first fire in/around fountain heights complex. But it is the first to make it into the news in years. The first fire I know of was 10 years ago