New Harmony FireApple Harvest Fe

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CLICK on the link below to read more information about the recent house fire that occured on April 5th, 2010 in the New Harmony Valley:
http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201004070455/NEWS01/4070301

Photos from the Mill Flat Fire - Summer 2009 NHFD Volunteers

Here is a portion of an article by Pat Reavy in the Deseret news:

NEW HARMONY, Washington County — Utah Gov. Gary Herbert flew over this southern Utah town Sunday afternoon where about 150 residents remain evacuated because of fire concerns.
Residents say the fire destroyed a home and other buildings on a multimillion dollar ranch in the area and also destroyed at least one other house. Fire and forest officials have not indicated exactly how many buildings were burned Saturday. Herbert arrived in southern Utah Sunday afternoon and was expected to address the media after his helicopter tour.

About 150 residents were evacuated Saturday from New Harmony Heights, an area east of I-15 in the foothills. They were eventually allowed to return to their homes, but residents told the Deseret News they received reverse 911 calls Sunday morning ordering them to evacuate their homes again.
Some residents, however, remain in the evacuated area. Some residents said the evacuation was voluntary, others said they were ordered to leave. The situation is somewhat confusing.

Firefighters continued Sunday to battle the wildfire , which was being fueled by strong afternoon winds.
"It's an extremely dangerous situation right now," Kenton Call, with the U.S. Forest Service, said late Saturday. "Much of the town is evacuated. There's a lot of lumps in people's throats."
Approximately 150 residents were evacuated Saturday night, and as winds continued pushing the fire toward the town and damaging homes, fire officials urged remaining residents in the town to leave their homes on Sunday.

In addition to some structures, about 15,000 acres have been burned so far in the rapidly moving fire, but there were no reported injuries. The fire was spreading downhill from Pine Valley Mountains Wilderness.

The Mill Flat fire was started by lightning on July 25 and has been burning ever since in a region of mostly heavy, dead vegetation. But Saturday afternoon, canyon winds, high temperatures and low humidity pushed the fire from the top of the mountain, past a fire break and into the town all in a matter of hours.

The main front of the fire moved from timber onto shrub, oak and juniper vegetation, continuing to spread north in timber strands on the top of the mountain. Officials said the natural fire was being monitored and used to restore ecosystem health with fuel breaks and other fire suppression methods in place.

"What we think probably happened is the heat of the fire continued to dry that vegetation--mahogony--out," Call said. "It happened very rapidly."

Late Saturday evening, air tankers arrived in the area to start dropping retardant and continued to do so Sunday.

Susan Thomas, spokeswoman for the Greater Salt Lake Chapter of the American Red Cross, said Red Cross volunteers in both Washington and Iron counties were combining services to open a shelter around 80 S. Main at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ward house in Kanarraville in Iron County. The shelter is available to people needing a place to sleep or food or clothing.

Firefighters from all parts of the region were being called to help protect the threatened structures, according to emergency dispatchers.

"Over the last several days we have been working the fire with a helicopter to try and keep it from getting into the canyon," Call said.

He said relative humidity in the evenings and plant moisture usually help quell fires, but in this case the fire continued to burn actively Saturday night.

"We worked to protect the structures the best we could," Call said. Officials said they don't have estimates about damage. Emergency trail closures are in place for the Mill Canyon trail and parts of the Anderson Valley and Summit trails. Pine Valley District ranger Bevan Killpack said smoke from the fire may be visible from Cedar City, New Harmony, Pine Valley, St. George and Enterprise.

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CLICK on the link below to read more information about the recent house fire that occured on April 5th, 2010 in the New Harmony Valley: http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201004070455/NEWS01/4070301
Photos from the Mill Flat Fire - Summer 2009		NHFD Volunteers



Here is a portion of an article by Pat Reavy in the Deseret news: NEW HARMONY, Washington County — Utah Gov. Gary Herbert flew over this southern Utah town Sunday afternoon where about 150 residents remain evacuated because of fire concerns. Residents say the fire destroyed a home and other buildings on a multimillion dollar ranch in the area and also destroyed at least one other house. Fire and forest officials have not indicated exactly how many buildings were burned Saturday. Herbert arrived in southern Utah Sunday afternoon and was expected to address the media after his helicopter tour. About 150 residents were evacuated Saturday from New Harmony Heights, an area east of I-15 in the foothills. They were eventually allowed to return to their homes, but residents told the Deseret News they received reverse 911 calls Sunday morning ordering them to evacuate their homes again. Some residents, however, remain in the evacuated area. Some residents said the evacuation was voluntary, others said they were ordered to leave. The situation is somewhat confusing. Firefighters continued Sunday to battle the wildfire , which was being fueled by strong afternoon winds. "It's an extremely dangerous situation right now," Kenton Call, with the U.S. Forest Service, said late Saturday. "Much of the town is evacuated. There's a lot of lumps in people's throats." Approximately 150 residents were evacuated Saturday night, and as winds continued pushing the fire toward the town and damaging homes, fire officials urged remaining residents in the town to leave their homes on Sunday. In addition to some structures, about 15,000 acres have been burned so far in the rapidly moving fire, but there were no reported injuries. The fire was spreading downhill from Pine Valley Mountains Wilderness. The Mill Flat fire was started by lightning on July 25 and has been burning ever since in a region of mostly heavy, dead vegetation. But Saturday afternoon, canyon winds, high temperatures and low humidity pushed the fire from the top of the mountain, past a fire break and into the town all in a matter of hours. The main front of the fire moved from timber onto shrub, oak and juniper vegetation, continuing to spread north in timber strands on the top of the mountain. Officials said the natural fire was being monitored and used to restore ecosystem health with fuel breaks and other fire suppression methods in place. "What we think probably happened is the heat of the fire continued to dry that vegetation--mahogony--out," Call said. "It happened very rapidly." Late Saturday evening, air tankers arrived in the area to start dropping retardant and continued to do so Sunday. Susan Thomas, spokeswoman for the Greater Salt Lake Chapter of the American Red Cross, said Red Cross volunteers in both Washington and Iron counties were combining services to open a shelter around 80 S. Main at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ward house in Kanarraville in Iron County. The shelter is available to people needing a place to sleep or food or clothing. Firefighters from all parts of the region were being called to help protect the threatened structures, according to emergency dispatchers. "Over the last several days we have been working the fire with a helicopter to try and keep it from getting into the canyon," Call said. He said relative humidity in the evenings and plant moisture usually help quell fires, but in this case the fire continued to burn actively Saturday night. "We worked to protect the structures the best we could," Call said. Officials said they don't have estimates about damage. Emergency trail closures are in place for the Mill Canyon trail and parts of the Anderson Valley and Summit trails. Pine Valley District ranger Bevan Killpack said smoke from the fire may be visible from Cedar City, New Harmony, Pine Valley, St. George and Enterprise.