WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah — The Rockville Fire that started near Zion National Park Friday is now 100% contained, officials said Monday.
The fire, burning in steep, rocky conditions, was last estimated at 72 acres.
Evacuation orders originally issued were lifted late Friday. The area is located southwest of the national park.
Rockville resident Jacob Anderson recalls the moment they received the initial evacuation order.
"It looked like for a while there, it was going out of control. We wondered where all the big fire trucks were," he said. "We didn't see planes yet or helicopters, and eventually those finally did come and they made a big difference, but at first, when it was spreading the most, it was just some devout firefighters with shovels doing their best to keep it under control."
Jacob's son, Ryker, and nephew, Gaige, were at the swimming hole nearby when they smelled smoke.
"There was tons of black smoke, and it was going everywhere, so we're like, 'What was going on?' So we went back up there, and tons of brush had caught fire, some of the trees were on," said Ryker Andersen.
The boys say they called 911 explaining what they saw and where the fire was.
"At the moment, it was kind of like, 'this is kind of cool,' and then we realized how bad it was getting. That was pretty worrying," added Gaige.
Both directions of State Route 9 were closed at mile marker 29 in Springdale.
The cause of the fire is human-caused, and the circumstances surrounding it remain under investigation.
