CEDAR CITY – Authorities were busy for several hours Thursday night with two fires burning at the same time that evacuated one neighborhood and knocked out power all over town.
Cedar City Police and Fire departments responded to a fire on Automall Drive near Love’s Truck Stop at around 9:30 p.m. and within minutes were called to the block of 300 North and 300 West where the neighbors had to be evacuated.
Both fires took out power poles, affecting residents in the Fiddlers Canyon area and those south of town, in addition to the neighborhoods near 300 West. There is no estimate on how many homes were without power during the hour it was down. Power has since been restored to all areas.
The fire near Love’s only burned one acre, primarily brush and weeds, before fire crews were able to contain it.
Police evacuated the neighborhood on 300 West. However, the fire did not damage any structures but only burned a fence and some weeds.
“We evacuated the area as a precaution due to the fire’s proximity to homes,” Cedar City Police Sgt. Jerry Womack said.
Authorities believe fireworks may have been the cause of the fires but both incidents are still under investigation.
“They’re thinking it was fireworks but no one is admitting anything at this point,” Womack said. “The second one is probably fireworks too but no one was around or wouldn’t say who started it.”
Later, Womack said a witness reported a white Mazda 3 speeding away from one of fires.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews | @tracie_sullivan
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.
We drove by the 300 West fire to see residents lighting more fireworks while firefighters were battling the fire just across the street. The evening followed by witnessing an Enoch resident burning weeds in their backyard. Can’t fix stupid! Iron County must have a problem with the drinking water.
Let’s shoot off fireworks for the 4th and let’s continue to sell them for Pioneer Day too yayyy stop selling fireworks for starters ban the darn things, it don’t take a rocket scientist people that’s where I would start
Well said Delong
I live two houses over from where the kids started the fire with fireworks on 300W.
I managed to capture video of quite a bit of it:
https://youtu.be/-brhuYHUu5Y
Watched the video, INSANE. So sorry you live by a bunch of stupid hillbillies. Their parents are probably the same idiots who put all the blame on the Brian Head fire sqaurely on “greenies”, and not the moron with the weed torch.