ST. GEORGE — A wildfire was burning in the Diamond Valley area north of St. George, igniting shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday. It was only partially contained as of 5 p.m.; however no structures were threatened and no injuries were reported.
Dixie National Forest Public Information Officer Kevin Abel told St. George News via text that the Blake Gubler Fire was burning in short dry grass and brush.
Abel reported the fire was 7 miles down the Blake Gubler Road in the Dixie National Forest.
“Human caused fire, UTV caught fire, which spread to the surrounding vegetation estimated at 15-20 acres,” Abel texted St. George News.
Abel said six engines and one squad were on the scene fighting the fire. Single engine air tankers and other aircraft were doing retardant drops and helped in the initial attack on the blaze by firefighters, according to Abel.
“Aircraft dropped retardant and fire crews established fire retardant lines,” Abel said.
He said firefighting efforts will continue into the evening and night.
“My view of it is they are getting a pretty good handle on it,” Abel said. “We’ve got a lot of firefighters working really hard to contain this fire safely in a small area.”
Abel said it’s important to remember that all of Southern Utah is under Stage 1 fire restrictions, meaning no campfires or open flames of any kind are permitted.
This report is based on information provided by emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of the findings.
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