MINERSVILLE – 9:36 p.m. Update: The Black Mountain Fire has grown to 4,000-plus acres. Smoke and ash are impacting Cedar City and Cedar Mountain tonight as large accumulations of vegetation are consumed.
Two firefighters have been transported to the hospital and are being treated for heat-related illness.
The fire remains at 5 percent containment and the Chalk Hollow, Maple Springs, Black Mountain, and the Camel Hollow Roads remain closed. One cabin also remains threatened by the fire.
Fire behavior is reported to be torching, running and spotting with significant fire growth is being observed.
A Type III Incident Management Team will manage the fire starting Thursday.
8 p.m. Update – The Black Mountain Fire is now at 3,000-plus acres and is making significant runs to the south. Smoke may impact Cedar City tonight as large accumulations of vegetation are consumed. The Chalk Hollow Road is now closed. Fire Managers would like to remind the public to stay out of the fire’s surrounding area due to high rates of spread.
The fire remains at 5 percent containment as of 8 p.m., Wednesday.
5 p.m. Update – The Black Mountain Fire has grown to 1,020 acres as of Wednesday afternoon. Three roads in the area remain closed and containment is currently at 5 percent.
Located three miles east of Minersville in Beaver County, approximately 200 people have been assigned the to the fire that was triggered by lightning on Tuesday around 5 p.m.
According to a recent update, additional resources have arrived at the scene and crews are starting to make progress in steep and rocky terrain with support from aircraft. All road closures remain in effect as the fire is making short runs, primarily on the southeast and southwest corners of the perimeter.
Road that have been closed to public access include Maple Springs Road, Black Mountain Road and Camel Hollow Road.
One structure, a cabin, remains threatened by the blaze. So far no evacuations have been issued and no injuries have been reported.
Be cautious on Independence Day
The Color County Fire Interagency also released the following statement asking people to be mindful of the extreme fire danger the area continues to face.
As we celebrate Independence Day in extreme fire danger conditions, please help fire managers prevent additional wildfires from igniting. The Black Mountain Fire is consuming a large portion of the fire suppression forces in southern Utah.
“Because of the high commitment of many interagency resources to the Black Mountain Fire, it’s imperative that we keep a high level of awareness to acts that may contribute to property damage, and risk to human life during this extreme fire danger situation,” said Mike Melton, Fire Management Officer for the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
There are multiple prevention measures we can take to mitigate human caused fires this year, especially during times that fireworks are readily available, said Melton.
Color Country Fire Managers are engaged in a busy fire season and will be until heavy precipitation is received. Preventing human caused fires is the first step to keeping wildfire damage from happening. Everyone can assist in this effort.
Updated: 8 p.m., July 3, 2013
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.
