VIDEO: Visitors trying to take in the spectacular vistas of Zion National Park were greeted with smoke and flames Wednesday afternoon as a brush fire burned near the South entrance of the park.
The fire, reported around 4 p.m., threatened the visitors’ lot at one point, but the work of firefighters has contained it to four acres.
Las Vegas resident Kevin Mead was visiting the park and on his way to the visitors’ lot on a day with few visitors that he described as a “ghost town.” He was heading to his vehicle to leave when he saw the smoke and flames.
“We were within feet of it. We were a good 200 yards away and watched it grow and figured we better get out of the parking lot,” Mead said. “It was a decent fire.” The National Park Service described what has been named the South Entrance Fire as “human-caused,” and the incident is still under investigation.
The fire left an area just east of the South entrance and campground charred, though no structures were damaged and there were no injuries.