This is what David and Bree went through to pick up the kids on Sunday after our keeping the kids for a visit. A fire closed I-15, threatened a town.
Winds, high temperature still hampering firefighters
By Nancy Perkins
Deseret Morning News
ST. GEORGE — Dry winds and hot temperatures continued to hamper firefighters Sunday as they battled two major blazes, including one that threatened a small town and again closed I-15.
An air tanker drops fire retardant Sunday next to I-15 at exit 33 north of St. George.
Scott G. Winterton, Deseret Morning News (photos)
Today's forecast for the St. George area called for more wind and sunny conditions with highs in the upper 90s.
The lightning-caused Blue Springs Fire consumed more than 8,000 acres within the Dixie National Forest on the west side of I-15, forcing the Utah Highway Patrol to close down the freeway in both directions several times Sunday.
"It's a waiting game. We watch the flames on the ridge up there and hope the line holds," said UHP Lt. David Excell, as he looked toward the western slope of a steep hillside across the freeway at the Pintura exit.
I-15 was closed between 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday, forcing hundreds of motorists to make alternate plans. Dozens of semitrailer trucks were parked overnight along frontage roads in the St. George area after the freeway was closed, and motel rooms were hard to come by.
St. George Police Sgt. Rich Farnsworth said the department chose not to ask truckers to move their rigs since the drivers had "no other choice" than to park where they could.
Clair Jolley, Bureau of Land Management line operations supervisor at the Pintura location, said his crews were standing ready to protect a single home tucked away in the pine trees. Firefighters also cut numerous firebreaks and kept hot spots from reigniting once the active fire passed an area.
Heavy air tankers continued to make aerial passes over the flames, dumping fire retardant along the fire lines. Several massive power lines in the path of the Blue Springs Fire were burned, although Jolley said the power had already been diverted.
A helicopter carrying a water bladder also flew overhead.
Traffic is stopped north of St. George as crews work to keep fire from crossing I-15.(photo)
Scott G. Winterton, Deseret Morning News
Several miles away, on the west side of the county, the Westside Complex Fire consumed another 10,000 acres overnight and into Sunday, bringing its total to 68,264 acres.
"We made some good progress against the Westside," said David Boyd, BLM fire information officer. Boyd said winds calmed Sunday in the area, helping the firefighting effort considerably. That fire, also caused by lightning, is 70 percent contained and is expected to be fully contained at some point on Tuesday.
The evacuation order for folks living in Gunlock also was lifted on Sunday, allowing those who left the town of 200 residents to return home.
Residents of New Harmony could face the same kind of evacuation order, however, if the Blue Springs Fire continues its northern push, Boyd said.
Lea Twitchell and her family were told to leave their New Harmony home if flames reached a ridgetop three miles away.
"At church today, the bishop told us all to go home and get our valuables together, just in case," she said. Church members were calling everyone on a phone tree Sunday, and visited other neighbors who weren't on the list or don't have phones.
Her husband, Craig Twitchell, and son, Greg Barnes, were mowing high weeds near their house, and her 17-year-old daughter, Christie Barnes, was gathering food for three horses, three dogs, five ferrets, a hamster and a guinea pig in case flames reached the ridgetop.
She said smoke and ash had already built up a layer on the cars. "It's a little bit irritating to breathe," she said.
A crew from central Idaho waits on standby near I-15 at Exit 33 as the wildfire burns near the freeway.(photo)
Fire crews began a burnout around 7 p.m. Sunday in an effort to push the head of the Blue Springs Fire back into the rugged mountain terrain and away from the open, grassy flats where New Harmony, population about 200, lies.
"We are developing trigger points for the fire so that we know when we would need to put an evacuation order in place," Boyd said Sunday evening. "The fire is about six miles from New Harmony, however, and evacuations are not imminent."
Max Lasley of Cedar City was one of several people who drove down to see the wildfire before heading back home.
"I fought fires for three years with the Red Eye engine crew," said Lasley, who now works in another business. "I really miss it. I guarantee you any firefighter that comes to see this is just aching to fight it."
