Air attack, hiking firefighters combine to halt wildfire near Veyo

Written by Chris Reed
July 21, 2023

VEYO — A wildfire was sparked by lightning from a thundercloud in the hills two miles from Veyo, but a lightning-quick attack from air and ground stopped the blaze at two acres.

A bucket carried by helicopter drops water down on the Gunlock Fifre, Veyo, Utah, July 21, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

The fire, dubbed the Gunlock Fire, was first reported around 1:57 p.m. on a ridge between Tobin Wash and Cottonwood Wash. It wasn’t far from Eagle Mountain Ranch, though firefighters said neither it more any other structures were threatened as the wind pushed flames in the opposite direction.

The 105-degree temperatures at the site were bearing down, with occasional relief from a passing monsoonal thunderhead that firefighters said was the suspected cause of the wildfire in the first place.

The air attack consisted of two single-engine air tankers (SEATs) early on before they gave way to a single helicopter carrying a bucket that dropped water from the nearby Gunlock Reservoir four miles to the south. 

Map shows location of fire that burned two acres, Veyo, Utah, July 21, 2023 | Fire graphic by iStock/Getty Images Plus, photo courtesy of Google Maps, St. George News

On the ground were firefighters led by Dammeron Valley Fire and Rescue with Veyo, Bureau of Land Management and Santa Clara-Ivins firefighters assisting. But unlike the aerial firefighters, it wasn’t easy for the teams on the ground between the rough fire roads and the terrain.

“It’s an 800-yard hike in just to the fire,” Dammeron Valley Capt. Ryan Dambrosio told St. George News. “The road is really really hard on the vehicles. It’s tough on the rigs, tough on the guys but they put in some good work.”

By 4 p.m., there were only wisps of smoke. After a helicopter made one of the last air drops at 5:10 p.m., the smoke disappeared. 

“It took two hours for us to stop the forward progress,” Dambrosio said.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Reed serves as a reporter for St. George News, where he has been honored with several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for his work, including first-place accolades. He started his journalism career as a sports reporter and editor in Southern California where he once compared shoe sizes with Shaquille O'Neal and exchanged mix tapes with members of the Los Angeles Kings. After growing up in the San Fernando Valley learning karate skills from Mr. Miyagi and spending a decade in Las Vegas mostly avoiding the casinos, he came to St. George for love and married his soulmate, a lifetime Southern Utah resident. He is the proud father of two boys, his youngest a champion against both autism and Type 1 diabetes.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGNews

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