ST. GEORGE — Late on Friday night, the St. George Fire Department was dispatched to a brush fire on the Banded Hills near the St. George Airport. The fire was burned on the northeastern end of the hills, closest to the airport.
“Burned several acres and was kind of inaccessible for most of it so we let it burn up into the ledges on the top side and then we were able to use crews from the top and bottom,” St. George Fire Department Chief Robert Stoker said. “We were able to contain and extinguish it. There was no damage to any structures or any property, just the brush itself. It was fireworks-related and the police department was able to find the individuals who were responsible for it.”
The weather has been hot and dry as of late and Stoker said this has only made things worse.
Those who were using fireworks in the area were cited for not only the firework usage outside of the allotted timeframe set by the state but also using fireworks in a restricted area. Stoker added that they will be charged for the suppression costs as well.
While Utahns are only allowed to use fireworks during certain timeframes, there are also restricted areas laid out by the cities which have been deemed unsafe. Stoker said that a majority of the fires started due to fireworks occur in those restricted areas.
“Just like the Turkey Farm road fire, that was fireworks caused and again in a restricted area,” Stoker said. “The accessibility, the fuel load and all of those things combined are why we have these areas in the city that are restricted from fireworks.”
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.