Firefighters make gains in containing 14,379-acre Flatt Fire west of Enterprise

In this June 18 file photo, a wildfire burns near the town of Enterprise, Utah, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

ST. GEORGE — Crews continue to make good progress fighting the Flatt Fire that burned multiple structures and triggered evacuations last week.

In this June 18 file photo, a wildfire burns near the town of Enterprise, Utah, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The 14,379-acre fire is no longer threatening any structures as it burns through sage and pinion juniper northwest of Enterprise near the borders of Washington and Iron counties. Fire managers have determined the cause of the fire to be a lightning strike near the town of Beryl.

As of Tuesday morning, the fire is 57% contained.

Despite some windy weather on Monday, the fire remained in its footprint and did not grow in size, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Forest Service’s Dixie National Forest division.

During this time, crews managed to fully contain the north and east perimeter of the fire, employing single-engine planes and helicopters to assist in the effort.

Map shows the perimeter of the 14,379-acre Flatt Fire in Southern Utah as of June 22, 2021 | Image courtesy of InciWeb, St. George News | Click on image to enlarge

On Tuesday, firefighters are expected continue to mop up pockets of heat while strengthening the fireline. Meanwhile, some crews will continue to backhaul fireline equipment and begin fire suppression repair in areas of the fire where containment has been achieved.

To assist crews fighting the blaze, fire managers are asking the public to be especially mindful of fire restriction and weather advisories in place in Southern Utah.

“Community and firefighter safety are top priorities for both the Incident Management Team and the Bureau of Land Management,” the press release states.

As of Tuesday, a red flag warning remains in effect in Washington County for wind and low humidity. The National Weather Service is warning of wind gusts up to 35 mph combined with humidity as low as 9%.

Isolated to widely scattered, mainly dry thunderstorms are possible Wednesday afternoon and evening.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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