Fire Update and Reminder--NO DRONES!

Fire Update

West Valley Fire Update - July 6, 2018 Date of Start: June 27, 2018 Current Size: 11,716 acres Location: 10 Miles North of St. George Utah Legal Description: Latitude: 37ᵒ 23’ 50” Longitude: 113ᵒ 25’ 24” Cause: Human Caused. Containment: 28% Resources: There are currently 659 personnel on the incident, including 20 Hand Crews, 3 Type-1 Heli-copters, 3 Type-2 Helicopters, 4 Type-3 Helicopters, 17 Engine Crews, 1 Bulldozer and 2 Water Tenders. Fire Behavior Decreases on the West Valley Fire Firefighters have been working diligently to increase containment on the West Valley Fire. Despite previous multiple Red Flag Warning days, containment lines on the southern, western and northern flanks are currently holding. The eastern flank has shown little movement and has burned to the edge of several fire scars and natu-ral barriers. There was limited growth yesterday with smoldering and isolated torching within the fire perimeter. A drone intrusion occurred yesterday mid-morning within the fire perimeter. There is a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in place around the fire, to avoid mid-air collisions. TFRs are put into place to protect aerial attack helicopters and airplanes during firefighting efforts. While seemingly insignificant in size, a drone can cause catastrophic damage to any aircraft. This drone intrusion grounded aircraft, inhibiting firefighting efforts until it was deemed safe to resume flight operations and suppression efforts. If you fly, we can’t. Help keep our firefighters safe by respecting the TFR and area closures. Lighter winds are expected today and will continue through early next week. Cloud cover will increase through the weekend, as a result of monsoon moisture from the south. Isolated thunderstorms are possible Saturday, with the potential for wetting rain Sunday through the middle of next week. With this potential for higher hu-midity and lighter winds, crews anticipate gaining ground on the containment of the fire. Pine Valley Reservoir is now open to recreation. Helicopters had been using the reservoir to fill their buckets for fire suppression. However, with containment on the southern end, helicopters are dipping from water sources closer to the areas they are dropping water. Pine Valley Campground remains open. Emergency area, road and trail closures remain in effect. For details about these closures, please visit: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/5873/43533/. Stage II Fire Restrictions remain in place. You can find additional details at: www.utahfireinfo.gov