WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah — A brush fire in a ravine straddling the southern Utah communities of Hurricane and LaVerkin stretched 50 acres late Sunday afternoon and threatened several homes.
The fire began around 5:30 p.m. along the Virgin River in an off-road riding area of Confluence Park known as The Sand Chute. It was named the Old Dump Fire for the trash dump that used to be in the area.
The fire moved quickly, Washington County Fire Warden Heber Heyder said, marching up the side of the ravine toward a home.
“It could have gotten really bad. It could have come up, spotted over this ridge top, and just kept going through the grass and sage and then into this neighborhood,” Heyder said.
“There were several homes threatened. This one that we're at foremost,” Heyder added. “But we got crews here and a very good timing for the crews to get here and able to protect it.”
Other structures in danger included the historic hydroelectric plant that provided power to the area from 1919 to 1983.
Heyder said the fire is suspected to be human-caused.
“Somebody was down here that were seen when the fire started, kind of hustling out of here.”
A plane dropped fire retardant while a helicopter made several water drops right up to dusk.
Heyder said forward progress was stopped around 7:30 p.m.
Crews remained on scene. As the sun set, the sound of chainsaws could be heard below from firefighters continuing to create lines.
“Crews are just mopping up those edges and cooling things down,” Heyder said.
