ST. GEORGE — It was a busy 12 hours for firefighters in Littlefield, Arizona, as they thwarted two blazes that threatened mobile homes. One of the fires was visible from at least 12 miles away and produced towering flames estimated at 30-40 feet high, according to Beaver Dam/Littlefield Fire Battalion Chief Andre Ojeda.
At around 11:30 p.m. MST Friday, crews rushed to the Jones Flat area of town and confronted heavy flames that were encroaching on a homeowner’s backyard. The fire was apparently fueled by a significant amount of piled-up yard debris, and its flames grew much more intense when they engulfed several large trees.
“The neighbors were pretty worried over there with burning embers flying off the trees and falling everywhere,” Ojeda told St. George News. “The trees made the fire so big because they were so tall.”
It took firefighters nearly an hour to extinguish the flames and their efforts spared two mobile homes from damage. However, a tow truck in the backyard was destroyed, Ojeda said, and the fire’s cause remains under investigation.
Another fire reported just before 10 a.m. MST Saturday, apparently started near the front door of a mobile home on East Front Street on the same side of town.
Dixie Power employees who were working in the area spotted the flames; they immediately call 911 and “knocked down” most of the fire themselves, Ojeda said.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and extinguished the remainder of the fire, the origin of which is still being investigated.
With the hot and dry weather and high winds in the region, Ojeda reminded residents there is a strict burning ban in place at this time, which prohibits burning of yard debris or other outside burning. The exception to the ban: camp fires that are properly supervised and then doused.
“We want people to be out there having fun, and if they have a campfire, that’s fine,” he said. “But make sure it is completely extinguished and, whatever you do, don’t leave any campfire unattended — not even for a minute.”
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