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ST. GEORGE - A lightning strike in southern Utah brought this city to a standstill Monday.
The Powerline fire damaged a 138,000-volt transmission line in the desert between Dammeron Valley and Veyo, knocking out power for about four sweltering hours in St. George and other cities in Washington County.
Throughout southern Utah on Monday, wildfires continued to spread misery. They caused evacuations in Kanarraville and threatened trails in Zion National Park.
Firefighters and resources from every town and city in Iron County as well as state and federal agencies were dispatched to the 60-acre Bumblebee fire west of Kanarraville and visible from Interstate 15.
Lacee Bartholomew, a spokeswoman with the Color Country Interagency Fire Center, said the fire was 10 percent contained Monday night as badly needed rain showers drenched the area.
She said 12 homes were threatened by the fire that started around 5 p.m. and forced the evacuation of 25 people. They were allowed to return later Monday night.
Bartholomew said 13 fire engines, two bulldozers, two helicopters and five single-engine air tankers fought the fire Monday.
"We're glad we got the rain," she added.
Evacuated resident Nancy Scott said around 5 p.m. she was talking to construction workers putting the finishing touches on the new house she and her husband have been building in the sagebrush-covered hills when she saw flames about a quarter-mile away.
"We saw the flames and knew something wasn't right," said Scott. "My husband started putting water on trees with a hose thinking it would help. Then [firefighters] arrived and told us to evacuate."
She said she and her husband and a half-dozen workers heeded the warning and retreated to a staging area just outside Kanarraville.
"The black smoke was scary," said Scott. "We didn't want to lose our house before we even moved in."
Meanwhile in St. George, not many people were going anywhere. With no electricity for stoplights, traffic jams gummed up the city. St. George street crews were setting up stop signs at intersections.
Traffic backed up for more than four blocks. People also were desperate to find a gas station that was operating. Larger businesses, such as Home Depot and Smith's grocery stores, stayed open using generators.
It took accountant Troy Braithwaite about 25 minutes to drive a few city blocks in downtown.
"It's chaos out there," he said. "People are driving crazy."
The Bean Scene, an artsy café in St. George, is a favorite stop for folks thirsty for an ice coffee after work. But not Monday. The café and many businesses here shut down early because of the outage. The electricity went out about 4:30 p.m., leaving the Bean Scene without a working refrigerator, cash register or espresso machines.
"You don't appreciate it until you don't have it anymore," said store owner Jackie Rickman. "You don't realize how much you depend on it."
The Powerline fire damaged a transmission line shared by multiple power companies that provide electricity to about 160,000 customers in Washington County, said Dean Cox, emergency services director for Washington County.
The entire city of St. George was without electricity, said utility workers. The outage also affected Winchester Hills, Dammeron Hills, Gunlock, Sand Cove, Veyo, Red Mountain, Ivins, Quail Creek, Toquerville and Leeds, said Rocky Mountain Power spokeswoman Margaret Oler.
The high temperature for St. George on Monday was 107 degrees, with thunderstorms delivering intermittent wind gusts and downpours throughout the day.
Ann Jasper, the administrator at Ridgeview Garden Assisted Living, which houses 38 people mostly between the ages of 80 and 97, made sure her clients kept cool.
"We got water in and we made up some really cold wraps to put around their necks. It stayed relatively cool in the facility even without the electricity," she said.
About 8:30 p.m., under a full rainbow accented with occasional flashes of lightning, electricity began returning to St. George neighborhoods. Because of the duration of the outage, power officials said they would restore electricity in stages over two to three hours.
The Powerline fire has burned about 1,000 acres and was 30 percent contained at 10:30 p.m. Monday. Sixty firefighters and five air tankers were battling the blaze.
The biggest fire Monday was sparked by lightning in Zion National Park a day earlier.
Park spokesman David Eaker said the fire, started by lightning Sunday afternoon, sprang to life Monday afternoon. It is burning in a rugged area called Orderville Gulch east of the Narrows of the North Fork of the Virgin River and has burned about 200 acres.
Eaker said a Type 3 firefighting team will be assembled today to fight the fire.
"We want to try and keep the fire from spreading outside the park," said Eaker. Fire officials said some of the park's trails would be closed.
Monday's fires came on a day when firefighters conquered the worst fire in Utah's history.
Jim Springer, fire information officer with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said the Milford Flat fire, which consumed more than 363,000 acres of sage, pinyon and juniper after being ignited by lightning on July 6, was 100 percent contained Monday.
He said management of the fire will be turned over probably today to a smaller staff. The Neola North fire in Uintah County that started on June 29 by an unknown source was more than 80 percent contained on Monday, said Springer.
The Neola fire killed three people in a hay field the day it started when they were overcome by flames.
The Mathis fire, which was burning in Carbon County and at one point threatened methane gas wells, was also 100 percent contained on Monday, said Springer.
The Greenville Bench fire in Beaver County was about 80 percent contained Monday and Springer said it was just smoldering and "creeping."
He said it is expected to be fully contained sometime this week.
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* Tribune photographer JIM URQUHART contributed to this story.