Utah, Arizona fires: Containment grows; smoke expected to ease
Fire crews continued to make progress in putting out several Utah and Arizona blazes that were sparked in July, sending smoke over St. George and surrounding communities.
The air quality had returned to normal ranges on Friday, according to readings from PurpleAir sensors in the St. George area, with the only area still showing unhealthy air conditions north of St. George, in La Verkin.
Read on for updates on five fires that started July 12 through July 17.
Follow the latest on Utah wildfires, smoke from fires and red flag warnings here.
Graff Point Fire
The Graff Point Fire, sparked by lightning, was discovered at 10 p.m. on July 12 about five miles south of Cedar City in Iron County. It burned 544 acres, and firefighters had built containment lines around 85% of the blaze as of Friday. Suppression costs were estimated at $3.3 million.
Full containment on the fire is expected by July 26. Firefighters over the next week will continue to mop up and monitor that fires do not ignite again in the area, according to the federal incident team managing the fire.
Local fire crews are scheduled to take control of the incident at 6 a.m. on Saturday, July 20. Evacuations and road closures were expected to be lifted at that time, fire officials said.
Quail Springs Fire
The lightning-sparked fire was discovered at 3:26 p.m. on July 13 in Mohave County, Arizona, about 14 miles south from St. George. It had consumed 1,508 acres and was 45% contained as of Friday. Suppression costs were estimated at about $602,000, according to the Wildland Fire Interagency Service.
Gulch Fire
The lightning-sparked fire was discovered at 4:14 p.m. on July 13 in Mohave County, Arizona, about 12 miles southwest of St. George. The fire burned 926 acres, and firefighters had built containment lines around 90% of the blaze as of Friday. Suppression costs were estimated at just under $400,000.
Cane Springs Fire
The fire was discovered at 7:07 p.m. on July 17 in Mohave County, Arizona. It burned 236 acres as of Friday.
Deer Springs Fire
The human-caused Deer Springs Fire was discovered at 7:02 p.m. on July 7 in the Great Basin Area, about eight miles north of Kanab in Kane County. It burned 11,766 acres and containment was at 85% as of Friday. Suppression costs were estimated at $5.6 million.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Utah, Arizona fires: Smoke expected to ease over St. George
