News short: Smoke behind Dixie Center garners attention

Smoke rises over St. George from a controlled burn Tuesday morning, St. George, Utah, Oct. 20, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Flames behind the Dixie Center in St. George caught the attention of area residents as heavy smoke rose through the air. However, there ended up being no cause for alarm as the smoke was merely the result of a controlled burn.

A construction crew had obtained a permit to burn debris and tamarisk in a vacant lot behind the Dixie Center. But that didn’t stop concerned residents from flooding the St. George Communications Center with calls about the smoke.

The burn never got out of control, St. George Fire Department Deputy Chief Kevin Taylor said, but it did generate quite a bit of smoke.

“We issued a burn permit, not a smoke permit,” Taylor said. “So we told them to put it out. We don’t issue smoke permits.”

Taylor said there is nothing to worry about, as the burn is located in a large vacant lot and the crew is in the process of putting the burning material out.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

 

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3 Comments

  • hiker75 October 20, 2015 at 4:23 pm

    Gotta love the air quality around here!

  • KarenS October 20, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    At what point is St. George going to give up the ridiculous open air burning permits? It is crazy to pollute the air like this. The smoke makes you choke and burns your eyes and can be smelled for several miles. What is wrong with the local leaders to keep allowing this nonsense? One would think they would be concerned about the image of the city for visitors let alone the health of the citizens. We are not an agricultural area anymore.

  • Common Sense October 21, 2015 at 6:51 am

    I just didn’t like the smell….

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