LEEDS, Utah, July 19, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The Cottonwood Trail Fire southwest of Leeds in Washington County has grown to 3,000 acres and is 10% contained, Utah Fire Info tweeted late Sunday night.
“Winds have decreased and the fire spread has slowed significantly,” the tweet said. “A Type 3 team will take command of the fire Monday morning.”
The fire was first reported shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday and was estimated at 1,000 acres. By 6:30 p.m., the fire had grown to an estimated 3,000 acres, up from 2,000 acres just an hour earlier.
The fire was being pushed by 15-20 mph winds.
Evacuations were ordered for residents of Harrisburg and those west of I-15 in Leeds, but the order was later lifted for Harrisburg.
Red Cliffs Campground also was evacuated.
The American Red Cross of Utah tweeted Sunday evening:
“A Cooling and Evacuation Center has been opened at Washington Co. Fairgrounds, Grafton Building, 5500 W 339 South in Hurricane, to assist those affected by the #CottonwoodTrailFire. Evacuations are in place in Silver Reef and Leeds. We will update you as we are given more info.”
At 4:20 p.m., Utah Department of Transportation was advising that southbound I-15 was closed at Exit 27 to state Route 17, and drivers should detour SR-17 to SR-9, then to I-15.
A follow-up tweet added that northbound I-15 also was closed at Exit 16 to SR-9.
Thirty engines, three large air tankers and four helicopters from multiple agencies are working on suppressing the fire, which officials have determined was started by a blown tire along the highway, Utah Fire Info tweeted.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this story as information is made available.
