Blaze destroys famous Kanab-area movie set

KANAB — Buildings at a Kanab-area movie set made famous in westerns of the 1960s were destroyed by fire Friday night, the Bureau of Land Management reported.

A wooden-framed saloon, mercantile, post office and another building caught fire about 3 p.m. and burned to the ground, BLM spokesman Larry Crutchfield said.

The cause of the fire remained unknown and investigators were trying to determine if it had been intentionally set, he said.

The buildings were erected in 2000 by Kane County residents and constructed as look-alikes of sets built for the production of the Dean Martin/Frank Sinatra "Rat Pack" western "Sergeants 3." The sets were located near the original Paria movie set, 40 miles east of Kanab.

"The rebuilding of the set was a community effort, and (the fire) hurts the whole community," Crutchfield said.

A traveler paying a visit to the sets Friday told authorities he saw a tan, late-model pickup truck driving away from the area just as he arrived and spotted the fire, Crutchfield said.

More than 200 western movies have been filmed in the Kanab area, including the 1924 silent film "Deadwood Coach" starring Tom Mix. The saloon and mercantile were also featured in Clint Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales."