Trails closed in Zion due to Fires

[tanya]

Bo posted this in the Zion group.

Because of 4 fires a very large portion of the Park is closed. All
canyons feeding into the Narrows are closed (including the Narrows up
to Orderville and Orderville Canyon). The West Rim Trail is closed and
others.

[tanya]

Wildfires in Zion National Park



Date: July 17, 2007
Contact: David Eaker, 435-772-7811



A lightning storm that passed through the area Sunday evening, July 15, ignited several fires in Zion National Park. At this time, five fires have been confirmed in the park and other smokes reported, but unconfirmed. Two other small fires in the park were controlled today. Due to safety concerns, the following trails and canyons have been temporarily closed.

Temporarily closed trails and canyons in Zion National Park

The West Rim Trail (from the Lava Point Trailhead to Scout Lookout)
East Mesa Trail (from the east trailhead to the junction with Observation Point Trail)
Orderville Canyon (including all side drainages)
The Narrows above the junction with Orderville Canyon (The Narrows remains open from the Riverside Trail to Orderville Canyon)
Mystery Canyon
The majority of the fires are located in the area of Horse Pasture Plateau (southeast of Lava Point) and near the Orderville Canyon area. The largest of the fires is estimated at 200+ acres. The others are estimated to be in the range of 2-3 acres. They are being managed as a complex.

Aerial resources and a small crew of firefighters worked the fires today, but due to their remote location and difficulty of access little progress was made. In addition, the aerial resources were called away in the late afternoon to assist with higher priority fires in the St. George area. Resources are stretched thin throughout the Color County Fire management Area due to all the fires. Available firefighters and aerial resources will work the fires again tomorrow.

[Alex]

Well that's a bummer, any idea how long?

[tanya]

I don't have any idea other than what is in the new article. I don't see any smoke on this side of the park.

[Alex]

I don't have any idea other than what is in the new article. I don't see any smoke on this side of the park.

Ya all the pot smokers must have gone to Bryce :lol8:

Here is some more info. It's doing some raining on the east side, hopefully that will hit where the fires are too.

For Immediate Release LaCee
Bartholomew 435-865-4668
July 17, 2007 5:00 p.m. Scott Sticha
435-688-3303
David Eaker 435-772-7811


Color Country Fire Update

[tanya]

Oops... sorry Alex! I must have hit the edit button on your post instead of mine and added that extra info to yours. Sorry! Dang little red buttons :frustrated: :cool2:

Morning news on the fire

A wildland fire in Zion National Park's rugged backcountry became Utah's biggest Tuesday as other, smaller fires around the state were contained or doused by a blessing of rain - and fast work by fire crews.
Zion spokesman David Eaker said eight smoke jumpers on Tuesday started fighting the Zion Complex fire, ignited by lightning on Sunday and flaring to life Monday.
He said the fire grew to more than 500 acres by Tuesday, and smoke jumpers were trying to create a fire line and clear a helicopter landing site.
The fire is burning north of Orderville Canyon and east of the Narrows, Eaker said. The fire closed several hiking trails and shrouded the park in smoke during the morning hours.
Crews hope to keep flames from spreading past park boundaries about two miles away, Eaker said. But it's spreading quickly to the north and east, fueled by wind and dry conditions.
It's rare for a wildfire to grow significantly overnight, when temperatures drop, Eaker said.
"It's an indication of how dry the fuels are."
Jim Springer, a spokesman for the state Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said recent lightning strikes caused numerous small fires in southwestern and central Utah, but none had turned into a major fire by Tuesday.
He said the region is being monitored from the air for any

new starts.
Kathy Jo Pollock, a spokeswoman with the Interagency Fire Center in Salt Lake City, said firefighters were watching unburned islands of land within the containment lines of the 363,000-acre Milford Flat fire in Beaver and Millard counties.
She said fire crews are ready to start suppression efforts if the 500- to 1,000-acre islands start burning. Management of that fire was turned over from a Type 1 to a Type 2 team on Tuesday.
Bureau of Land Management spokesman Scott Sticha said that the Bumblebee fire west of Kanarraville in Iron County - it had forced 25 residents to evacuate - was 100 percent contained.
Lacee Bartholomew said the rains helped fire fighters contain the fire to just 60 acres, allowing residents back to their homes Monday night.
Meanwhile, in Washington County, the Powerline fire north of St. George in the Dammeron Valley - it had knocked out electricity to more than 160,000 people for 4 1/2 hours Monday - was 10 percent contained Tuesday. The 900-acre lightning-sparked fire caused high-voltage lines to fail.
Dean Cox, the county's emergency-services director, said Tuesday that Monday's rains helped slow the fire that was smoldering on Tuesday or burning in ledges that act as natural barriers.
mhavnes@sltrib.com
rrizzo@sltrib.com


http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6400545

[tanya]

For Immediate Release LaCee Bartholomew 435-865-4668

July 20, 2007 5:00 p.m. Scott Sticha 435-688-3303

David Eaker 435-772-7811



Color Country Fire Update

[tanya]

In southern Utah, after a week of battling flames in rugged, steep terrain in and around southern Utah's Zion National Park, crews are close to containing the Dakota Hills Complex fires.
The blazes have burned 9,156 acres in terrain so difficult to get to that firefighters had to be airlifted to some areas. Several communities were evacuated while the fires raged.
Firefighters are concentrating on patrolling, mopping up hot spots and removing unneeded equipment at the fire, which was 81 percent contained early today.
Crews and engines are in the demobilization stage, leaving just enough firefighters on the blaze in and near Zion National Park until a smaller fire management team arrives later today.
Evacuation orders have been lifted, allowing residents to return to communities north of Hay Canyon. State Road 14, however, is the only approved access road to the area for returning evacuees.

The section of North Fork Road between the end of the pavement north of Zion Ponderosa Ranch and Hay Canyon, including Cougar Canyon, remain closed. Residences accessible from that section of North Fork Road also remain under the evacuation order.

[tanya]

The fire burning in and around Zion National Park is 98 percent contained and full containment is expected this weekend.