Feds promise to put out Twitchell Canyon wildfire

SALT LAKE CITY — Local officials and residents say they're fed up with a wildfire the U.S. Forest Service has allowed to burn for nearly two and a half months to clear underbrush.

Beaver County Sheriff Cameron Noel told The Spectrum of St. George he's so frustrated he's given up trying to cooperate with federal land managers.

Noel says the Forest Service should put out the 68-square-mile Twitchell Canyon fire that was ignited by lightning July 20.

Noel says smoke from the fire is so thick it has cut visibility to two feet and closed a stretch of Interstate 70 at times.

One resident, Ursula Carstensen, says the smoke is giving her constant headaches.

Fire officials are promising to redouble efforts to put out the fire, which is only 28 percent contained.