Multiple agencies respond to fire along Virgin River in St. George; cause under investigation

Written by Mori Kessler
May 9, 2023

ST. GEORGE — A brush fire that burned along a stretch of the Virgin River on Tuesday afternoon between the area of George Washington Boulevard and Mall Drive sent thick, black plumes of smoke into the sky that could be seen from across St. George.

Firefighters from multiple agencies respond to a 40-acre fire by the Springs Estates by the Virgin River, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Sebastian Bencsik, St. George News

The St. George Fire Department responded to the report of a possible structure fire near 2500 E. Waters Edge Circle in the Springs Estates subdivision of George Washington Boulevard (formerly 1450 South) around 3 p.m.

The fire itself was burning along the river bottom near several homes, a park and horse stables. At its height, the fire spread southwest toward Springs Park and north toward Mall Drive and apartments in that area.

Heavy winds drove the fire and changed directions about three or four times, St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker said. As the day progressed, however, the wind began to lessen with the occasional gust that triggered a flare-up and fresh plume of black smoke.

According to Utah Fire Info on Twitter, the fire grew to around 40 acres and threatened over 100 structures. However, no evacuations of the surrounding area were ordered while firefighters dealt with the blaze.

While the fire burned near homes and other buildings, Stoker said he had yet to hear of any potential damage. Some property damage is likely, he said, but that has yet to be determined.

What the fire did burn were brush, debris along the river bottom that had built up over time and many invasive tamarisk shrubs and trees that produced the thick, black smoke when it took flame, Stoker said.

Firefighters from multiple agencies respond to a 40-acre fire by the Springs Estates by the Virgin River, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Early on St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell took to social media for the police department asking residents to stay away from the fire so they didn’t clog up the area or cause any other problems for first responders.

This appeared to work to an extent as the majority of the people who were out to watch the fire and firefighters were residents of the immediate area and not from the outside the neighborhood.

Eyewitness Jay Lane, who has horse stables within a quarter-mile of the fire, told St. George News his property was spared.

“Fortunately the river and the wind pushed the fire back onto itself,” Lane said. “The timber and vegetation next to the river is so thick there. The biggest challenge is that there’s no roads to the heart of the area, so the fire department has been limited to trying to build fire breaks.”

The neighborhood onlookers began to disperse and return home by 4:30 p.m. with many asking what the cause of the fire was.

“Right now it’s still under investigation,” Stoker said. “We are doing witness interviews and it’s possibly a controlled burn that’s been going for the last couple of days.”

Firefighters from multiple agencies respond to a 40-acre fire by the Springs Estates by the Virgin River, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Jeremiah Atkinson, St. George News

Burn season in Washington County runs from March 1 to May 30 and Sept. 15 to Nov. 15 and comes with “very finite rules you need to follow while burning to keep safe,” Stoker said.

Someone can secure a burn permit for small yard debris or agricultural burns that come with a different set of precautions and rules. In the case of the small yard burns, Stoker said someone needs a water supply nearby in case the burn runs away from them, among other conditions.

In cases where there’s wind in the forecast that can turn a controlled burn into an out-of-control blaze, the issued permits are suspended by the county during that time, the fire chief added.

However, until more interviews are conducted and the investigation runs its course, a controlled burn running amok is just one possibility.

“It could have been something totally different that started the fire,” Stoker said.

As the wind and fire appeared to calm by 5 p.m., Stoker said the fire was largely contained yet would continue to burn in spots for the rest of the day and into Wednesday as firefighters let certain spots burn themselves out.

“The priority right now is to contain the fire and keep in it check to where it’s not going to spread,” he said.

St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker (left) directs firefighting efforts against the 40-acre fire by the Springs Estates by the Virgin River, St. George, Utah, May 9, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

As such, some fire units and crews will remain at the scene and people in the surrounding area can expect to see smoke for another day or so.

Multiple fire agencies from across the county, as well as state and federal resources and private contractors with heavy equipment aided in either combating the fire, covering parts of St. George while St. George Fire crews fought the fire along the river. It is an arrangement that the St. George Fire Department responds to in kind when a major incident occurs in another city or part of the county.

Among these agencies were the Santa Clara-Ivins Fire Department, Hurricane Valley Fire District, Washington City Fire Department, Utah Forestry, Fire and State Lands, The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

“We cover each other,” he said. “It’s a been a great mutual aid situation.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler@STGnews

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