ST. GEORGE – A fire in a backyard off Main Street Tuesday afternoon burned two sheds to the ground and torched the surrounding area before being extinguished.
Around 2:25 p.m., the St. George Fire Department was sent to the corner of Main Street and 100 South to douse a fire that sent a large plume of black smoke into the sky overhead. Approximately five fire trucks and multiple firefighters responded to the fire.
Police closed Main Street to traffic between 100 South and 200 South, along with 100 South at 100 West for over an hour as the fire was dealt with and firefighters made sure no other structures were threatened.
In the backyard where the fire started, a shed burnt to the ground as flames spread to two parked cars and other items in the immediate area. The fire also passed through a neighbor’s fence and destroyed a second shed.
The fire also torched a power pole and damaged five electrical services attached to it, St. George Fire Deputy Chief Kevin Taylor said.
Individuals at the scene watching the fire said an explosion occurred while the sheds were burning. Though Taylor was unable to confirm it at the time, he said a possible cause of an explosion may have been a tire close to one of the sheds.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
No one was harmed in the fire and potential damages are estimated at $3,000-plus.
The temperature in St. George during the middle of the day was recorded to be around 112 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
When fighting fires during days with extremely high-temperatures, teams of firefighters are rotated in and out of combating the blaze, Taylor said.
When rotated out they are given water and allowed to remove their gear and rest for a while. A “rehab squad” is on hand to monitor the firefighters’ vital signs and then clears them to return to extinguishing the fire.
This report is based on statements from emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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The results of a backyard fire in downtown St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A firefighter douses the smoldering remnants of two sheds destroyed by a backyard fire in downtown St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
The results of a backyard fire in downtown St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
The results of a backyard fire in downtown St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A firefighter douses the smoldering remnants of two sheds destroyed by a backyard fire in downtown St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
At a backyard fire in downtown St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
At a backyard fire in downtown St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Smoke rising from a downtown backyard fire on Main Street, St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
The results of a backyard fire in downtown St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Smoke rising from a downtown backyard fire on Main Street, St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
The results of a backyard fire in downtown St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Smoke rising from a downtown backyard fire on Main Street, St. George, Utah, June 20, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.