ST. GEORGE — What started as a 5-acre brush fire outside Colorado City, Arizona, ballooned to over 70 acres Thursday but has since been 100% contained.
The fire was first reported shortly before noon near milepost 9 on state Route 389 in Mohave County, approximately 42 miles northeast of St. George, according to WildCAD-E, a computer-aided dispatch system.
The 71-acre blaze was reportedly human-caused but is still under investigation, and at least one structure is threatened.
The fire is located in a remote area and is mostly contained to private property, Bureau of Land Management Color Country spokesperson Jacqueline Russell told St. George News.
The wildfire is also burning grass and brush on lands stewarded by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management and the BLM’s Arizona Strip Field Office, according to a news release issued by Color Country Interagency Fire Management.
Multiple fire agencies responded in cooperation with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, including the Hildale-Colorado City Fire Department, Apple Valley Fire Department, Hurricane Valley Fire District and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as BLM fire crews.
They attacked the fire with three engines, five brush trucks, three structure trucks, two water tenders, a Type-3 helicopter and two Single Engine Airtankers or SEATS, according to the release.
The fire was considered 100% contained as of 6:05 p.m., and no area closures are currently in effect. A fire engine is still on-site to monitor conditions, the release states.
“We’re in pretty good shape,” the BLM’s Arizona Strip spokesperson Rachel Carnahan told St. George News. “With the quick response from all of the fire resources, and that’s where that inter-agency relationship really comes into play — we’re able to help each other out in a big way.”
Updated, July 9, 1:48 p.m., to include a video of the response courtesy of the BLM Arizona Strip, Clay Shakespear and Ellyse LaCorti.
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