If they let me close

[Aggie]

This started as a lightning strike fire about 3 and half weeks ago. Near this same starting point other fires have started in the past. The National forest service was ALWAYS quick to respond and put it out quickl;y. There are many very historical small I mean very small like handful of people communities in Pine Valley Mountains. It is also the obnly place on earth that trees were found that were tall enough and straight enough to build the pipe organ in SLC in the Mormon tabernacle. Well the forest service this time decided it would just be allowed to burn itself out. A psuedo controlled burn. We even had torrential all day rains last saturday. But the fire kept steadily creeping up the back side of the mountain to the front. Thursday it had top the mountain and started coming down the front. Yesteray (saturday) when we drove up for the last day of the USF it was very small but noticable. When we went for an early lunch the skies were all black with smoke, and ash was falling, this about 25 miles from the turn off to head to the fire off I-15. The rest of the evening was horrible with the smell and the ash falling. When we headed home about 11:30 pm I worried that we would not be allowed back down the freeway through the smoke. Well no problem for the traffic other than rubber neckers gawking at the blaze. They had closed off two exits to locals only. The town of New Harmony was evacuated and you could see this giant wall of flames ready to race across the valley floor. Someone in the bueacracy (federal) blew it on this one. It could have been stopped when it was only a few acres involved. They had 3 and half weeks to fight it. Now homes are being destroyed and the whole valley is in peril. But we have to bail out banks and save large bonuses for the bailed out companies rather than stop wildfires that can potentially kill. Yeah one of the excuse given was there was no money this year to fight the fires. I see that California got help right away.

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090830/NEWS01/908300329/1002/rss

[Aggie]

This is a more current link with some photos. #4 was early Saturday. the Night shots were last night. Early yesterday it has burned 940 acres. As of this morning it was over 4000 acres, and they called in FEMA. It has the potenial of rapidly burning through the valley if not stopped. Which will threaten over 100,000 people in the communities. This is a bad one. If I can I will go out with my "gasp" digigizmo tonight and get some shots. Right now it is total chaos on the freeway going north. At least being a local I know the roads and trails that I can get good shots, and not be in the way.

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-321965

[Terri]

Aggie - Good luck - and here's hoping this gets contained very soon. Meanwhile be careful out there with that digi-gizmo, getting pictures! :shock: It's alarming how fast and furious these blazes can become, no matter what level of firefighting is turned on them.

Take care - stay safe!

[Antarctican]

How tragic and frustrating for residents to know this could have been dealt with earlier!

[mitica100]

Hmm... Was it a lightning or a 'controlled' burn? I saw one of them controlled burns as I was driving S on I-15, just N of junction with 20, about three weeks ago. It was a small fire, mind you but one of these might actually get out of control.

[Aggie]

There are several fires buring out of control at the moment. The one you saw is near Scipio. It started back in July as well from Lightning. They are now battling it as well. The Mill flat Fire is now over 20,ooo acres, and growing with no containment. Over 600 homes are in danger, and if it hits one pocket just north of New Harmony, it will be in some tinder dry pinion pine. Those trees are what we call pitchy pine. They explode when they get heated in a fire. Then the line of trees look as if napalm has been dropped. It becomes a total chaotic mess of hell like proportions. They are trying to save the homes (15 have been lost) while they want to prevent that line from catching fire. If it goes it will race like a freight train towards Cedar City. It can also cause over 100,000 acres to ignite in a matter of hours. Where I live is just south of the mess down what is called the Black Ridge. We have a natural fire break from it. What gets me is the first week of the fire (lightning caused) it burned all of 25 acres. Once it was out of the wilderness area, after two weeks, they should have stepped in and put it out. They did nothing. Politics on that part was there was no federal funds, especially when California's fire started and most the western resources of fire fighters and equipment went to California. Maybe we are not the LA basin, but we have lives and homes at risk here as well. If the fire breaks that northern line we have an area of 70,000 people in danger. But then we are just Utah. Can't tell there is a little bit of anger in my post. The double speak being spewed here changes from hour to hour. Even the Governor is angry. No one is allowed into the area. You can drive up or down I-15, but the places you can get off to try and take pictures are closed. Further up on the eastern mountains there are some good vantage points, but with all the smoke we have it is impossible to see anything. It is so bad it is like having dense fog where you can see maybe 15 feet in front of you at times. Not only our smoke, but the winds are in a direct path from So. Cal. and we are getting the smoke form the LA blaze as well. Lots of us are hoping that hurricane Jimena will hit soon. It will bring some moisture into the area, and hopfully torrential rains like the last hurricane earlier this summer. I don't want the hurricane to be another disater, just one to dump lots of moisture and bring a monsoon swell this way. We need help badly.

[Aggie]

here is a link to some of the photos shot on Saturday and Sunday, by a bunch of locals. Deseret News main photo editor is listed, but I know some of the guys who tooks these shots.

http://www.deseretnews.com/photo/gallery/story/1,0000,705326747,00.html

Here is the link to a map of the area. Most of what has burned is mountainous. But if you look at the map it is now in the valley. The progess into the New Harmony moutains to the north is what is the biggest danger. I-15 is along the eastern part of the valley starting at the bottom of the map near the number 77. Cedar City is about an inch above the top of the map.

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site297/2009/0831/20090831__Newharmonyside_0901~2.jpg (http://www.sltrib.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2613929 )

[Terri]

This is very scary. I'm sure you are all waffling between being angry and just feeling helpless. I do hope containment is within reach!

[Fenman]

It puts the 2000 tons of old tyres still burning down the road look like a BBQ.