WASHINGTON COUNTY — A full-size motor home pulling an enclosed trailer went up in flames on Old Highway 91 Saturday afternoon.
Capt. Con Fulde of Santa Clara-Ivins Fire Department said firefighters received the initial call shortly after 3 p.m. Multiple agencies responded to the scene, which was near mile marker 3, approximately three miles north of the Utah-Arizona border.
The northbound motor home had been pulling a box trailer containing a side-by-side utility vehicle and camping equipment, Fulde told St. George News, adding that the male driver and female passenger were the only occupants of the vehicle and that both managed to escape safely.
The driver “saw smoke in the rear view mirror and pulled over,” Fulde said.
“The lady on the passenger side said that she had to jump out of the vehicle and the flames were right at her front tire there,” he said.
Several other drivers also stopped but were powerless to do anything but watch the blaze spread. Although the attached trailer was not completely consumed, its contents, including the utility vehicle, were also destroyed, Fulde said.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, he added.
Witness Corey Mirzak said he was driving through the Joshua Tree National Natural Landmark area when he spotted black smoke coming from the road ahead.
“I started taking pictures as I was approaching,” he said. “Right when I went past it, it was totally engulfed, and there were people standing off to the side. I didn’t stop.”
Also responding to the incident were personnel and equipment from Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire District, the U.S. Forest Service and Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, in addition to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Traffic in the area was impacted for approximately two hours while crews worked to fully extinguish the fire and clear the scene. Vehicle travel along the highway was restricted to the alternate use of a single lane during much of that period.
This report is based on statements from emergency responders or witnesses and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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Scene of a motor home fire on Old Highway 91 three miles north of the Utah-Arizona border, Washington County, Utah, July 27, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Corey Mirzak, St. George News Scene of a motor home fire on Old Highway 91 three miles north of the Utah-Arizona border, Washington County, Utah, July 27, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Corey Mirzak, St. George News Scene of a motor home fire on Old Highway 91 three miles north of the Utah-Arizona border, Washington County, Utah, July 27, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Corey Mirzak, St. George News Scene of a motor home fire on Old Highway 91 three miles north of the Utah-Arizona border, Washington County, Utah, July 27, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Corey Mirzak, St. George News Scene of a motor home fire on Old Highway 91 three miles north of the Utah-Arizona border, Washington County, Utah, July 27, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire District, St. George News Scene of a motor home fire on Old Highway 91 three miles north of the Utah-Arizona border, Washington County, Utah, July 27, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire District, St. George News
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