Land managers say a fire burning near the Utah-Arizona state line has grown to more than 2,200 acres and is now 5% contained.
Strong winds on the Kaibab Plateau have pushed the lightning-caused Rock Canyon Fire east towards the House Rock Valley.
Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Dolores Garcia says it’s growing partially in the burn scar left by last year’s White Sage Fire.
“The conditions are dry enough, and the lighter fuels like your grasses, your shrubs, have grown back to the point that the fire is moving through there pretty quickly,” she says. “It's not providing the pause or relief that we would usually see in some burn scars.”
Garcia says crews have been challenged by highly flammable and invasive cheat grass that’s grown since last summer, along with low overnight humidity and difficult terrain.
BLM officials have evacuated some campers and recreationists and closed a large area near the fire to the public.
Meanwhile, the 766-acre Dellenbaugh Fire is burning northeast of Kingman in the Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument. No containment has yet been reported. But officials say some containment is expected soon.
