Updated at 4:45 p.m., Oct. 2, 2012
IRON COUNTY – A wildfire that ignited south of the Horse Canyon area of Iron County Monday is estimated to have grown to over 1,500 acres and is currently 10 percent contained.
Called the “Roundabout Fire,” the blaze is situated on steep terrain which hampered access by fire crews yesterday.
According to a fire report, Mike Melton, fire management officer with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said fire managers are concerned about worsening weather conditions predicted for Wednesday. The National Weather Service posted a Fire Weather Watch for low relative humidity and northwest winds of 20 to 40 mph which could adversely affect fire behavior.
The cause of the fire is under investigation and is believed to be human-caused. So far no buildings are threatened and no injuries have been reported in connection with the fire.
The public is asked to avoid the Kern River Pipeline Road, the Lost Springs Road and the Horse Valley Road.
Values at risk include grazing land, sage grouse habitat, the Kern River Pipeline Corridor and communications sites.
The fire was originally reported to authorities on Monday around 4:20 p.m.
Recourse on hand include: eight fire engines, one 20-person hand crew, one water tender, one bulldozer, one air attack supervisor, two large air tanker, one single-engine tanker, one light helicopter and various overhead.
A total of 75 personnel are estimated to be involved in combating the blaze.
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Copyright St. George News, 2012, all rights reserved.
If I didn’t know any better I’d say the firefighters assigned to this fire and their strategy haven’t been very effective considering how the affected land area has grown exponentially.