Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
KCSG's Russ Wilde ReportingTwo major wildfires burning in southern Utah are getting closer to containment, but more fires have sprung up.
Just when firefighters thought they were getting the upper hand on Southern Utah Wildfires, a wave of lightning yesterday afternoon and evening has started several new fires that are being called the Bull Complex. At one point it threatened the town of Motoqua, but the winds shifted and officials say the town is no longer in danger.
Crews fighting the Jarvis fire are making progress on that blaze. So far over 50-thousand acres have burned.
Firefighters spent the day reinforcing fire lines and mopping up hot spots. A helicopter base has been set up at Gunlock Reservoir. Fire bosses hope to have the fire contained by Saturday. It's now 85-percent contained.
And the weather has been cooperating with crews working on the Kolob fire burning north of Virgin near Zion National Park. The 18-thousand acre blaze is 60-percent contained.
Murray Shoemaker, Kolab Fire Information Officer: "The area where the fire is not contained over on this side is extremely rough terrain, almost vertical in many places. There's spots where we can't get anybody in there, so what we are doing is taking helicopters with buckets and dumping enormous amounts of water on it."
As things are winding down on the Kolob fire, some of the crews have been transfered over to help on the Bull fire. A type one fire management team is on the way to battle that blaze.
A lot of vacationers had plans to visit Zion for the fourth of July holiday. If you still plan to go, the park is still open and the most popular part of the park, Zion Canyon, is unaffected.
In the high country, nine hiking trails have been closed. And officials say travelers should bring extra water, a fire extinguisher and a shovel if they decide to camp out.
