‘Possibly suspicious’ fire destroys trailer on residential property in remote area of Iron County

Written by Jeff Richards
April 14, 2023
Firefighters at the scene of a trailer fire in Modena, Iron County, Utah, April 14, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Enterprise Fire Department, St. George News / Cedar City News

MODENA — A fire that officials said may be suspicious in nature destroyed an unoccupied trailer in a remote area of western Iron County on Friday morning.

Firefighters at the scene of a trailer fire in Modena, Iron County, Utah, April 14, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Enterprise Fire Department, St. George News / Cedar City News

The property owner, a man in his 70s, said he had gotten out of bed around 7 a.m. when he noticed that an adjacent trailer he’d been using for storage was on fire.

Fire crews from Beryl and Enterprise fire departments responded to the scene, located off a dirt road a few miles north of state Route 56 near 9000 West in Modena.

No injuries were reported. However, the trailer and its contents were destroyed. 

The property owner told Cedar City News at the scene there was also damage to the north end of the adjacent trailer he lives in, including damage to the electrical wiring and water heater.

Iron County Sheriff’s Office deputies also responded to the incident.

Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter told Cedar City News by phone that while the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the incident is being treated as potentially suspicious in nature.

“It’s a little bit early, but it looks like it’s possibly an arson,” Carpenter said early Friday afternoon. “We’re still waiting for the State Fire Marshal to come down and see if he can give us more insight on it. But it appears that possibly that there was an accelerant used to initiate the fire. So, we’re looking at it as possibly suspicious at this point in time.”

This report is based on preliminary statements from first responders and law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings. 

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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