Brush fire burns 1.5 acres along I-15 near Cedar City

Written by Jeff Richards
June 6, 2020

CEDAR CITY —A wind-whipped brush fire burned nearly 1.5 acres along the roadside between Interstate 15 and Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City Friday night.

Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips said a total of 19 firefighters, representing the crews from one fire engine, one tender truck and three Type 6 brush trucks, responded to the blaze that was first reported shortly after 7 p.m. 

Phillips told Cedar City News Friday night the cause of the fire is not yet known and remains under investigation.

The blaze appeared to have started in some weeds adjacent to Old Highway 91, which runs as a frontage road between Enoch and Summit just west of I-15. It then spread through the wire fence and onto the shoulder of southbound I-15, near mile marker 64.

Although gusty winds hampered the firefighters’ efforts, the fire was essentially extinguished by 8:30 p.m. However, crews remained on scene mopping up hot spots for approximately another hour until the scene was declared clear by the fire chief just after 9:30 p.m. 

Traffic in the area was impacted during the fire response, with Old Highway 91 being temporarily blocked off and southbound I-15 experiencing slowdowns due to the emergency vehicles parked on the shoulder and the smoke blowing across the roadway. Utah Highway Patrol troopers and deputies from Iron County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control during the incident.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!