ST. GEORGE — A quick response by several fire agencies, including two wildfire fighters from California, was instrumental in knocking down a blaze at the side of Interstate 15 Monday morning.
Just before noon, firefighters were dispatched to southbound I-15 between mileposts 8 and 9, St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker said.
“Upon arrival we found that the right shoulder was involved, approximately 1/2 mile or so in length,” Stoker said. “It did get into the city landscaping on the Red Hills Parkway.”
Two engines, a brush truck and a ladder truck from St. George responded along with a brush truck from Washington and a state lands and forestry truck.
In addition, Stoker told St. George News that when they arrived there was a contract wildland fire truck with two men that were attacking the fire from the north side. The firefighters were from Visalia, California, and were traveling on I-15 when they saw the fire and stopped.
“We were able to get it contained,” Stoker said. “The only damage is to the city landscaping … other than that, no injuries or other damage.”
Stoker said the cause was possibly a passing truck towing a trailer.
“We received a report of a vehicle fire at Exit 6 just after this fire,” he said. “It appears that may have triggered this one when they had a wheel problem on a trailer on that vehicle.”
Stoker said about one acre of land burned in the fire, with 15 firefighters on the scene. Operations took just under an hour to complete and traffic was not affected.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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