Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our spring member drive has ended, but it's not too late to give. You have the power to help fund the essential journalism that keeps us all informed. Help us close the gap on our spring fundraising goal! GIVE NOW

Two Wildfires Near St. George Not Uncommon

Fire managers for the Bureau of Land Management in the Arizona Strip District, just south of St. George, are managing two wildfires. Residents can see and smell smoke but officials say the public is not in any danger. 

Both fires were started by lightning. The Wolf Hole fire is 10 miles south of St. George near Hodgets Canyon. The Sand Cove fire is 30 miles southwest of St. George in the Paiute Wilderness.

According to Rachel Carnahan, public affairs specialist for the BLM, it is not uncommon for lighting to be the cause of fires in remote areas of the west.

“In this time of year we’re in monsoon season, so we get a lot of thunderstorms,” Carnahan said. “Sometimes they bring rain and that causes flash flooding and causes havoc for a lot of our hikers in the area. And if it doesn’t bring the rain, then sometimes it brings the lightning and that causes fires out on the Arizona strip.”

Carnahan said predicting what will happen each fire season in Utah is difficult.

“We ask that the public remain vigilant, but it’s a wait and see scenario every single year,” Carnahan said. “I can tell you in October what this fire season will look like, having been through it. It’s a matter of, I can’t second guess what nature’s going to throw at us.”

No roads have been closed due to the two fires, but the BLM is encouraging the public to use caution when traveling in the area.