Wildfire sparks east of Beaver, power lines de-energized

BEAVER, UTAH (KUTV) — A wildfire sparked east of Beaver, prompting a quick initial attack from firefighters.

The Sheep Rock Fire was first reported around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday near Sheep Rock Road. A mutual aid response from fire crews involving ground fire crews, air attack, at least one helicopter and two single engine airtankers from Cedar City.

Officials said the fire was about 30 acres as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, and the cause is under investigation.

By late Tuesday night, the fire was reported to be 77 acres with forward progress stopped. Officials said crews will remain on scene.

According to Rocky Mountain Power, via their outage map, roughly 1,500 customers were without power as of 6:15 p.m. due to 'emergency de-energization'.

Nearby Cedar City and areas to the south and west were also experiencing power outages on Tuesday afternoon. More than 19,000 customers were without power as of 6:15 p.m.

David Eskelsen with Rocky Mountain Power said the mass Cedar City outage was due to the fire being close to RMP equipment, so officials chose to shut off power out of caution.

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