Fireworks ignite fire in Ivins neighborhood

IVINS – A part of a wall of brush and bamboo along 100 West in Ivins caught fire Tuesday night after being hit by sparks from fireworks across the road.

A short-lived fire on 100 West between 200 South and 400 South in Ivins. Officials reported that the cause of the fire was fireworks set off from across the street, Ivins, Utah, July 4, 2017 | Photo courtesy of Kathy Gubler, St. George News

Emergency responders were alerted to a growing fire on 100 West between 200 South and 400 South around 10 p.m., Santa Clara-Ivins Police Officer Chad Holt said. Police officers arrived at the scene first and found that the corner of the bamboo wall surrounding a residence’s property was going up in flames.

The Ivins City Fire Department arrived quickly after that and was soon joined by fire crews from the Santa Clara and St. George Fire departments.

Witnesses said the cause of the fire was an aerial firework that shot out some of it’s sparks across the road rather than skyward. Once those sparks hit the bamboo, it spread fast, they said.

“We were two houses down and the neighbor had set off an aerial-type firework,” neighbor Annie Lang said. “Some of it flew out horizontally and caught the bamboo (on fire) instantly. I took a video and in like a minute and a half (the fire) had spread right to the top.”

The flames were possibly around 20 feet high, Alan Campbell said.

Embers from the fire started falling on Lang and Campbell’s yard, but fortunately were put out before another fire could ignite.

“Crews got here quickly and were able to contain it,” Ivins City Fire Chief Brad Hannig said.

Fire crews mopping up after a short-lived fire on 100 West between 200 West and 400 West in Ivins. Officials reported that the cause of the fire was fireworks set off from across the street, Ivins, Utah, July 4, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The bamboo was fairly dry and the flames were high and intense for a few minutes until firefighters were able to knock the fire down, Hannig said.

No injuries were reported in connection with the fire. While the fire is likely to have caused some property damage, Hannig said he had no estimate on damages at the time.

The party who set off the fireworks may face a citation depending on the circumstances surrounding the incident, both Hannig and Holt said.

“There really is a dry climate (out here),” Hannig said. “We encourage everybody to be very careful.”

State law allows fireworks to be used three days before and after the 4th and 24th of July. For those living in Ivins who want to know where they can and cannot use fireworks, Hannig recommends consulting the map on the Ivins City website here.

This report is based on statements from emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Ed. Note: Captions on two of the photos featured in this article were mistakenly credited to the reporter and not the St. George News reader who supplied them. This error has been corrected.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MoriKessler

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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