Fire chopper about the get water from the Ivins Reservoir to drop on the 1,300-acre OMG Fire, July 22, 2012. | Photo courtesy of Paige Turpin
Update: 7:30 p.m: The OMG Fire is at approximately 1,900 acres. Forward progression has been stopped, smoldering and creeping is being observed. All else remains as earlier reported.
SOUTHERN UTAH – A fire triggered by lightning Friday night near Ivins, now named the OMG Fire, has grown to 1,900 acres and is 20 percent contained thus far. As for the Baboon fire, near Minersville, it is now 90 percent contained and remains at 20,732 acres.
Map of the OMG Fire, July 22, 2012. | Courtesy of Nick Howell, Color Country Interagency Fire Management.
OMG Fire
Nick Howell, fire investigator and information officer for Color Country Interagency Fire Management, said the fire started around 5:30 p.m., Friday, near the old OMG gold mining plant near Highway 91. The fire is now burning on the Shivwits Indian Reservation and may require intermittent closures to Highway 91 as the fire develops.
No structures are threatened and no evacuations have been issued at this juncture.
The forward progression of the fire has been stopped as if 7:20 p.m., Sunday.
Various firefighting resources from the Color Country Interagency Fire Management Team are on scene and responding to the blaze.
Baboon Fire
The Baboon Fire is 90 percent contained with approximately 80 personnel on scene working to meet containment objectives. No fire growth has occurred Sunday. The fire remains at 20,732 acres.
No structures are threatened and no evacuations are in effect.
OMG Fire as seen from Ivins, July 22, 2012. | Photo by Alexa Verdugo Morgan, St. George News.
Retardant being dropped on OMG Fire, as seen from Kayenta, July 22, 2012. | Photo by Alexa Verdugo Morgan, St. George News.Helicopters drawing water from Ivins Reservoir for the OMG Fire on the Shivwits Reservation, west of Ivins, Utah, July 22, 2012 | Photo by Paige Turpin for St. George NewsOMG Fire on the Shivwits Reservation, west of Ivins, Utah, July 22, 2012 | Photo by Eduardo Rodriguez for St. George NewsOMG Fire on the Shivwits Reservation, west of Ivins, Utah, July 22, 2012 | Photo by Eduardo Rodriguez for St. George NewsHelicopters drawing water from Ivins Reservoir for the OMG Fire on the Shivwits Reservation, west of Ivins, Utah, July 22, 2012 | Photo by Paige Turpin for St. George News
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.
Fires tend to be named after landmarks or facilities near their point of origin. The OMG Fire is named after the OMG gold mining mill found in the area.
OMG fire…..wth is that about?????
Fires tend to be named after landmarks or facilities near their point of origin. The OMG Fire is named after the OMG gold mining mill found in the area.
I love the comment. The “wth” made me lol.
Thanks for the explanation!