MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. – Lightning ignited several fires on the Arizona Strip over the weekend. Two of the fires are burning south of St. George. Color Country Interagency Fire Management teams and resources are currently mitigating or monitoring these and other scattered fires throughout southwest Utah and northwest Arizona.
Rachel Tueller, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Strip District, said no road closures are in effect, and no structures are currently threatened by the fires.
There are a total of seven fires burning in the Arizona Strip. Two of them, the Hodgets Canyon Fire and MM19 Complex Fire, are the closest to St. George.
The Hodgets Canyon Fire is burning 15 miles south of St. George near Black Rock Gulch. It is 220 acres in size and is running in cheat grass, torching trees, and has made some runs to the north. A helicopter crew and one 20-person hand crew are currently assigned to the fire.
The MM19 Complex Fire is actually five fires in the same general area. It is located on the south side of Interstate 15 in the Virgin River Gorge in an area designated as the Arizona Strip Field Office. The fires have covered 5-10 acres so far. Smoke from the fire may be visible along the I-15 corridor. One fire engine crew is on the scene.
The Hodgets Canyon and MM19 Complex Fires were started by lightning on Sunday.
The largest of the fires is the Le Fevre Fire. Also lightning-triggered, the fire started on Aug. 9, and has grown to 1,058 acres. It is located 8 miles southeast of Fredonia. Ariz., off Highway 89A.
Additional information on the Arizona Strip fires can be found on the Arizona Emergency Information Network website.
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Yes that’s the fires I looked at for the three hours I was stick in trffic on I-15 south, along with thousands of other hot sweaty motorists, who to their credit acted quite civilly for the ciscumstances. Circumstances caused by ADOT, and its poor planning in construction.