ST. GEORGE — While Thursday’s rain brought some needed relief to the dry conditions in the region, it also brought lightning.
Four lightning-caused fires are currently burning in the area — three in Southern Utah and one in rural northwest Arizona. According to a Hurricane Valley Fire District Facebook post Thursday afternoon, fire crews are currently on the scene of two different brush fires.
The Grafton Fire is just west of Rockville and south of state Route 9 and is estimated at a half-acre and is in steep terrain. Brush 49, Brush 43, and color country resources are on the scene of this fire.
The Thompson Ridge Fire 10 miles southeast of Beaver has burned 7,287 acres and is 20% contained, according to an online fact sheet provided by Fish Lake National Forest. A Thursday update included the following:
Firefighters on both the southwest and northwest edges have been able to spread out to continue building and reinforcing the indirect line. There is a lot of ground to cover, and it will take time to make their way around the fire perimeter building this indirect line. Minimal amounts of rain fell over much of the Thompson Ridge Fire the last few days.
Updates and additional information on these fires are available at the Utah Fire Info website.
The Hidden Fire, which is burning in Arizona in a remote area of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument some 30 miles southwest of St. George, increased to 417 acres and is 25% contained, according to a Bureau of Land Management news release. The lightning-caused wildfire was first reported Tuesday night just before 8 p.m.
Fire crews from the BLM and National Park Service are assisting on this fire with the following resources: four engines, one air attack fixed wing and four seat planes.
Photo Gallery
Flame icons represent the Grafton Fire (left) and Zipline Fire, which started as a result of lightning strikes during Thursday's storms, Aug. 17, 2023 | Image courtesy of Utah Fire Info, St. George News
Smoke rises from the Hidden Fire in northwest Arizona. The lightning-caused wildfire, which has burned 417 acres since it was first reported Tuesday, is located inside Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Aug. 17, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Bureau of Land Management, St. George News
Smoke rises from the Zipline Fire, which is burning near state Route 9 west of Rockville, Aug. 17, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Hurricane Valley Fire Department, St. George News
Map indicates acreage burned by the Thompson Ridge Fire in Fish Lake National Forest, Aug. 17, 2023 | Image courtesy of U.S. Forest Service, St. George News
Firefigher on an all-terrain vehicle in Fish Lake National Forest, date unknown | Photo courtesy of U.S. Forest Service, St. George News
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