Crews extinguish wildland fire near Mesquite

By Jean Reid Norman

Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 | 4:19 p.m.

A wildland fire in Mesquite was doused about 30 hours after it broke out along the Virgin River.

The fire, which covered about 4.2 acres along the river just 800 feet from homes, was contained by 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon said. The fire never spread beyond the size federal firefighting crews found when they responded about 3 p.m. Monday, she said.

The fire was likely caused by humans, Cannon said.

The blaze was reported about 12:30 p.m. Monday along the river bed, Cannon said. It was fueled by the non-native tamarisk growing by the Virgin River.

The closest firefighting crews were in Logandale, about 45 minutes away, she said. Four fire engines and a small plane battled the blaze.

Firefighters were helped by the fact that sand and creosote separated the fire and the homes, Cannon said. In addition, she said, BLM crews had removed much of the tamarisk earlier this year.