ST. GEORGE — It was brief and for a time threatened structures, but the Hurricane Valley Fire District made quick work of a brush fire Tuesday night in the hills above Hurricane. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
The brush fire was one of two major fires after nightfall on the Fourth of July on what was otherwise a quieter-than-normal Independence Night for local firefighters.
A blaze that firefighters say came from fireworks not disposed of correctly damaged the garage of a home in Washington City and there were two small fires in the Santa Clara-Ivins area before dusk Tuesday.
“It wasn’t bad this year,” Washington City Fire Department Capt. Julio Reyes said. We were all pretty impressed by fewer calls. Everyone did a good job overall of keeping safe.”
Despite appearances, the fire in Hurricane was north the town’s “H” and at no time threatened the landmark, Hurricane Fire acting Chief Joe Decker told St. George News. But it did threaten structures including a couple of nearby homes.
The fire, which started at 10:21 p.m., and ultimately burned one acre, was noticeable from the Hurricane Valley below but Decker said the fire was put out within an hour.
Fireworks have not necessarily been labeled as the culprit.
“We’re still doing an investigation on it,” Decker said.
In Washington around the same time, it was not the lighting of fireworks but the disposal of them that caused flames in the garage of a home on the 3200 block of Hidden Springs Drive.
As in Hurricane, firefighters made quick work in Washington City.
“The house was actually in really good shape other than the garage,” Reyes said.
What Reyes described as a young family of four was briefly displaced while firefighters cleaned up.
“It was related to fireworks but it was the improper disposal,” Reyes said. “They were all finished lighting the fireworks and put it in a garden sack and soaked it really good and left it in the garage.”
Reyes said the homeowners noticed around 10:30 p.m. that the garage was on fire.
“They opened the garage and realized it was a bad idea with the oxygen going in,” Reyes said. “The timing happened to be right that we had a quick response and we were able to put water on it quick.
Reyes said just hosing off used fireworks isn’t enough.
“The best thing to do is assume they’re hot for 24 hours after,” said Reyes who suggested leaving used fireworks in a pail of water overnight. “People feel the urgency to get rid of them. Just let them soak overnight.”
Before dusk, Santa Clara-Ivins Fire and Rescue dealt with two blazes. The first, at 4:15 p.m., on the 1600 block of Bench Drive in Santa Clara singed a small part of a backyard. The second, around 7:45 p.m., burned a patch of the hillside above 35o North in Ivins.
Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips said the department had 17 fire calls Tuesday night, most of which were fireworks related.
One caused damage to a fence in an LDS church parking lot, while another burned a vehicle as a result of someone putting a hot firework in the garbage can, which caught fire and spread to the car. There were no injuries, the chief added.
Cedar City News reporter Jeff Richards contributed to this report.
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