Home Care In Kanarraville, UT

KANARRAVILLE — Utah’s first-ever rural inland port has officially been created in the Cedar City area.

In a public meeting April 4 at BZI Steel in Kanarraville, the board of directors of Utah Inland Port Authority unanimously voted to approve a resolution officially creating the Iron Springs Project Area, which encompasses some 899 acres of currently undeveloped property just east of Iron Springs Road (see map).

It includes 825 acres owned by Commerce Crossroads Logistics Park and another 74-acre parcel just to the north, owned by Savage Railport Southern Utah.

“We are excited to announce the approval of the Iron Springs Project Area, which will provide a significant generational economic boost to Cedar City and surrounding areas,” Ben Hart, executive director of the Utah Inland Port Authority, said in a news release announcing the board’s action.

And during the meeting, Hart said, “We feel like today is a momentous day, one that we’ll look back upon for generations to come as a catalyst that really helped to fuel economic growth in this part of the state.”

Hart also spoke of the positive economic impacts the project is expected to have not just in Cedar City and Iron County, but throughout southwestern Utah.

“Bringing all of these things together, it doesn’t just create a job, or a few jobs, it creates thousands of jobs,” he said. “It creates jobs that may have multiplier impacts across this entire region. It brings the right kind of jobs. It’s not just growth for growth’s sake.

“It brings jobs that are going to keep your kids and your grandkids here. It’s going to keep them gainfully employed. It’s going to make this region competitive, not only with the Wasatch Front but with other markets in the western United States.”

Hart said that the project area is expected to serve as a sustainable industrial park and transportation hub, bringing new jobs and opportunities to the region.

“This is a historic moment for Utah, and we are grateful for the community’s support and collaboration throughout this process,” Hart said.

Danny Stewart, economic development director for Cedar City and Iron County, said that for the past several years, he has been working with state representatives from several Utah rural counties to explore plans for a statewide inland port satellite system.

“This was our goal: to partner with private industry and with Utah Inland Port to better utilize our transportation assets and to improve the movement of products and materials throughout the state, ultimately to create new business opportunities throughout rural Utah,” Stewart said.

“Today’s meeting represents many years of hard work and collaboration,” Stewart said as he expressed his appreciation to all those involved. ”It fits perfectly within our local economic development strategy that’s been developed for decades.

“This means more investment in our community, more employment opportunities for Iron County families, and hopefully, reducing the export of our most valuable resource, which is our educated young people.”

Ryan Obray, project executive for Commerce Crossroads, noted that the intent behind the project is to make Iron County an even more attractive place for families to live and work.

“This will bring additional jobs and new, dynamic commerce opportunities,” Obray said. “The exclusive and sustainable offerings available at Commerce Crossroads will improve transportation of raw materials and allow for more effective and efficient processing of goods and products for global companies.”

Following the board meeting and a short break, Hart moderated a 30-minute panel discussion featuring questions of several key players in the project, including Stewart, Obray, Utah state senators Evan Vickers and Jerry Stevenson, Iron County Commissioner Mike Bleak and Savage vice president and business unit leader Armando Tirado.

During the discussion, Stevenson (R-Layton) likened the project’s potential economic impact to that of his own home district’s largest employer.

“This is your Hill Air Force Base,” said Stevenson, who also is one of the five members of the Utah Inland Port Authority board of directors.

Bleak spoke of the collaborative efforts made by the various partner entities and officials.

“The one thing that this community doesn’t lack … is a spirit of collaboration, a spirit of volunteerism and really a spirit of innovation,” Bleak said.

On Feb. 27, Bleak and his fellow Iron County Commissioners Paul Cozzens and Marilyn Wood unanimously passed a resolution consenting to and requesting the establishment of a UIPA Project Area within the boundaries of Iron County. The measure then went to the Utah Inland Port Authority for review and approval.

“We are thrilled with the decision of the Utah Inland Port Authority and are honored to be a part of the exciting developments erupting in the Southern Utah business communities,” James Barlow, CEO of BZI and Commerce Crossroads, said in a separate news release issued by BZI.

“We look forward to working with fellow business leaders and organizations who are contributing to the future of vibrant and sustainable growth and services in our region,” Barlow added. “Our collective visions and collaboration are poised to attract global business opportunities that will positively impact the economic and general health of our businesses, workers and citizens of Iron County and surrounding regions.”

BZI’s news release also noted that the Commerce Crossroads industrial park will initially include office buildings, on-site products and services to construct tailored processing facilities for customers. Additionally, it will operate a new rail transload service called Rail Sync, as well as an expanded short-line service to individual facilities.

The company also anticipates the integration of technology, construction material manufacturing, data centers, e-commerce and distribution, as well as office space and residential housing.

To see a copy of the Utah Inland Port Authority’s final 32-page document detailing the Iron Springs Project Area, click here.

For additional information about UIPA Project Areas and developments, visit UIPA’s website. For questions about the Iron Springs Project Area, contact Taneesa Wright via email or phone.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

KANARRAVILLE, Utah — The trailhead to the idyllic hike here used to be a secret among locals. Shadowed by the internationally known grandeur of Zion National Park just 45 minutes away, Kanarra Falls attracted few out-of-towners.

Yet, its natural beauty and not-too-difficult trail made it a favorite of visitors ranging from families to adventure seekers.

The hike starts on a red dirt path along the banks of Kanarra Creek before veering into the stony creek bed. The waterway winds through a slot canyon shaped by centuries of running water as sunlight peeks through the narrow opening high above.

The twists and turns end at a sparkling waterfall framed by a log ladder with steel footings and rope railings.

If that sounds picture-perfect, there's proof it truly is. The Instagram hashtag #kanarravillefalls boasts more than 10,000 pictures.

Like other breathtaking places that have exploded in popularity thanks to social media, the Kanarra Falls hike quickly went from beloved by locals to in danger of being loved to death by the masses.

Worried that the trail's splendor might become its undoing, Kanarraville took action. If you want to hike to the falls, you'll have to plan ahead to get a permit.

Internet fame brings challenges

In the internet age, places like the Wave, Horseshoe Bend and Kanarra Falls are at the epicenter of a challenging question: How do you prevent the beauty of a place from destroying it?

For years, the small town of Kanarraville, population 355, struggled with how to answer that question.

City Clerk David Ence told The Arizona Republic that traffic to the trailhead and on the hike started becoming a big problem in 2009, when the city had to figure out a solution to the overflow of people parking on nearby streets.

And the increase in hikers created another problem: an increase in human waste on the trail.

"There were parts of the canyon that were starting to smell and look like a latrine," Ence said in an email.

Ence said Kanarraville's water comes out of that canyon and the town saw the problem as one to "head off at the pass rather than try to fix after the fact."

The solution: Require permits

Ence said it took a lot of cooperation among the town, the Bureau of Land Management, Iron County and the Utah state land trust to come up with a solution: issue permits and charge a fee.

The city issued its first permits for the hike on May 1, 2018. The cost was $8 per person.

On March 1, 2019, Kanarraville took even more steps to protect the trail. It limited visitation to 150 hikers per day and raised the permit fee to $12 per person.

Ten percent of the proceeds go to Utah schools. The rest covers parking, restrooms and an attendant at the trailhead kiosk, as well as street maintenance, garbage collection and maintaining the permit website.

Ence said the city has received permit requests from the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico. He said there's an occasional grumpy customer, but he believes the process has created a better situation for the town and for hikers.

"For the most part, hikers as well as town residents are very happy with the changes. The hike is more enjoyable with less people and town resident complaints have dwindled," Ence said.

How to get a Kanarra Falls permit

Kanarraville established www.kanarrafalls.com so visitors can buy permits in advance. The cost is $12 per person. There are no refunds.

Once you book, you'll receive two emails. One is your receipt. The other contains the permits, which must be scanned at the trailhead kiosk.

Permits typically sell out at least a week in advance, so it's best to book ahead of time. If permits haven't sold out, you can buy one at the trailhead kiosk with a credit or debit card.

The cost of the permit includes parking at the trailhead.

How long is the hike?

The trail is about 4.5 miles round trip. Expect to spend three or four hours, depending on how quickly you hike and how often you stop for photos and rest breaks.

Leave yourself plenty of time to enjoy the canyon's beauty.

Is Kanarra Falls a good hike for kids?

Kanarra Falls is a moderately adventurous hike. You may need to make adjustments based on the ages of your children and the conditions of Kanarra Creek.

The current could be too strong for smaller kids, or the water level too deep, so check the conditions before you start hiking. Use your good sense and turn around if the conditions are not right for your kids.

There are two waterfalls with ladders. The ladders are sometimes unstable and may be scary for kids to climb. Use your best judgment of your child's ability.

What to know before you go

How to get to Kanarra Falls

The trailhead is at 400 E 100 N, Kanarraville, Utah. It's about 45 miles northwest of Zion National Park.

From Interstate 15, take Exit 42 toward Kanarraville/New Harmony. Turn right onto Old U.S. 91 and follow it into Kanarraville. Turn right on North 100. You'll see the Snackery, a small snack stand on the corner. Follow the road past the campsite. The turn for the parking lot is on your left.

Details: www.kanarrafalls.com.

Have a favorite hike you'd like us to check out? You can connect with Melissa through email at [email protected]. You can also follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

KANARRAVILLE, Utah— Four small earthquakes hit about 12 miles southeast of Kanarraville, just north of Zion National Park overnight. The first earthquake hit at 11:40 p.m. and had a magnitude of 2.6. The next one hit just before midnight and was recorded at 2.4, and then two earthquakes at 2.5 struck, one hitting at 2:20 a.m. and the other just before 5 a.m.

The surrounding areas had over 20 even smaller earthquakes around the greater Kanarraville area.

Dr. Jamie Farrell, a seismologist at the University of Utah said the earthquakes are nothing new for that area.

“So the sequence started on the 28th of November and it’s been ongoing up until now,” Farrell said. “Of course last night you saw the events that occurred. The largest event is a magnitude 3.1 and that one occurred on November 28 at the beginning of the sequence.”

According to Farrell, two people reported feeling the 3.1 earthquake, and since then there have been a series of what one might call mini aftershocks.

“In total we’ve located 53 earthquakes in this sequence since November 28th,” Farrell said. “The magnitude 3.1 was the largest, there’s been 15 that are in the magnitude two range, and then there’s 37 events that have magnitudes less than two.”

Farrell says these quakes are occurring about 3 and a half miles east of Kolob reservoir, just North of Zion National Park or 17 miles north of Springdale.

There is currently an ongoing earthquake sequence occurring in southern Utah, near Zion National Park. The sequence started November 28, 2021. To date, we have located 53 events. M3 = 1, M2 = 15, M<2 = 37. pic.twitter.com/aWcJ8BVpcq

— UUSS (@UUSSquake) January 4, 2022

The hard thing about earthquakes is that they’re not predictable. Unlike other natural disasters like hurricanes or tornadoes, there’s not an easy way to track if a larger earthquake is coming. The good news in this case is that Farrell says Southern Utah doesn’t have to worry about these quakes being a sign for something bigger.

“Sometimes you can have what we call foreshocks, before a sequence in fact there were two smaller events before the magnitude 3.1,” Farrell said. “But the farther away you get from the larger event, the likelihood of having an even larger event diminishes pretty rapidly. So at this point I don’t think it’s accurate to say that because you’re having these little ones it’s a sign of something big coming.”

The area in Southern Utah isn’t along any fault line, and Farrell explained there are often things shifting deep below the surface.

“There’s no mapped faults to my knowledge where these events are occurring these are occurring on some buried fault structure that is too small to reach the surface,” Farrell said. “…this happens all over the place, a lot of the earthquakes we see aren’t actually occurring at faults that are visible on the surface.”

KSL TV has an earthquake tracker you can use to keep up with the latest earthquake activity found here or at the U’s seismology website here.

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KANARRAVILLE — A human-caused wildfire burned five acres of brush alongside a steep hill just south of Kanarraville on Wednesday evening.

Mike Melton, area fire management officer for Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said the blaze was first reported at about 5:14 p.m.

Less than two hours later, the fire’s progression had been stopped, although numerous hot spots remained within the burned area.

“The cliff really helped out on the right flank,” Melton told Cedar City News via phone just after 7 p.m. Wednesday. “We flanked it with engines and then the state Type 1 helicopter knocked down the head and some of the places that were really hard to reach. But yeah, a successful stop here.”

The Utah Fire Info website initially had the acreage mapped out at 5.0 acres, but Melton said that number could change, pending more precise GPS measurements.

“We’ll get a decent acreage on it a bit later,” he said.

A couple days later, the final size of the fire ended up measuring at 9.5 acres.

Melton said the blaze is suspected to have been started by an individual cutting metal with a gas-powered saw, an activity that’s in violation of current fire restrictions.

The person received a citation, Melton added.

In addition to the Type 1 helicopter, two single engine air tankers also responded to the incident, along with an air attack platform airplane to coordinate the airspace.

Firefighting resources and crews also were deployed from the Kanarraville, New Harmony and Cedar City fire departments, along with Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

“Parowan and Paragonah (also) showed up for a little while,” Melton added. “We determined that we didn’t need them, so we sent them back. But we thank them for their response, for sure.”

Melton said as of 7 p.m., crews were putting more water on the still-smoldering hot spots.

“We’ll be mopping up for quite some time now,” he added.

Update July 11, 11:50 p.m. to indicate the final size of the burned area was measured at 9.5 acres.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

Communities across the state are ready and want to move forward with port projects, including Iron, Tooele and Box Elder counties.

(Image courtesy of BZI Steel) Rendering shows potential layout of a future inland port north of Cedar City.

| Updated: April 11, 2023, 8:10 a.m.

Five years after its formation, the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) might finally have a tangible project to point to that is shovel-ready. But it’s not in Salt Lake City’s northwest quadrant — it’s in Cedar City.

The UIPA board approved an area plan for the Iron Springs Inland Port last week, a project that includes nearly 900 acres near 1400 N. Iron Springs Road. The new transportation and logistics hub also includes two truck-to-train transloading facilities. One will be run by Commerce Crossroads, the new headquarters of BZI Steel, and is scheduled to break ground in 2024. The other will be operated by Midvale-based Savage Companies, which previously denied its plans for a Cedar City bulk-loading rail terminal had anything to do with UIPA.

“[This is] probably the most important vote, other than forming the inland port, that this board has ever taken,” board member Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said during the meeting held in Kanarraville. “And this is the beginning of a lot of really great things for the state of Utah and the economy of the state.”

Stevenson sponsored the legislation that initially created the port authority in 2018. In the years since the port has experienced numerous roadblocks.

The project faced regular protests from Salt Lake City residents, who worry the port’s base in the capitol city will bring increased traffic and pollution, along with impacts to vital wetlands habitat near the Great Salt Lake. It has frequently clashed with Salt Lake City leaders. Its past directors inked no-bid contracts worth millions and spent millions more leasing ground for a Salt Lake City-based transloading facility that might never get built.

UIPA’s leadership saw major reforms last year. But the board has since busied itself responding to troubling audits and developing safeguards, like procurement processes and records retention policies, rather than developing strategies for national and international trade.

Moving forward in Iron County and questions about coal

In Cedar City, Savage had already planned to build a railport hub by the end of the year to enhance its network of 50 terminals across the U.S. It is unclear when or why UIPA became involved.

“They had been wanting to work with the inland port for several years,” said UIPA’s executive director Ben Hart of the state’s rural areas, including Iron County. “But because the port, for whatever reason, was not in a position [to move forward], the communities, frankly, got sick of waiting and started looking at what they could do on their own.”

Savage’s involvement in the coal industry has some questioning whether the new transloading facility will be used to move coal to foreign markets, but the document only notes Savage’s facility will transfer “bulk commodities, such as dry bulk, liquid bulk and construction products.”

“In all my conversations, [coal] has not come up,” Hart said. But one of UIPA’s requirements before it issues loans is that Savage open its hub to a variety of businesses, he added.

“They’re going to hopefully work with whoever wants to work with the facility,” Hart said, conceding that could include the coal industry.

Plans for millions in tax revenue

The port authority expects to collect close to $100 million in local property taxes over 25 years. It will issue 10% of those funds to affordable housing projects. Another 5% will go to UIPA’s own administrative costs. The remainder goes to Commerce Crossroads and Savage to help build infrastructure and recruit businesses, according to the plan.

Part of UIPA’s role will be to monitor the Iron Springs Inland Port’s impact on jobs, affordable housing, air quality and the environment. The property tax revenue can create incentives for businesses, but UIPA “generally” won’t approve such incentives to companies that use more than 200,000 gallons of water per day.

Still, Hart acknowledged, UIPA is not a regulatory body and has no way to enforce whether industries adopt the best environmental and sustainability practices.

“All our initiatives come through carrots and not sticks,” Hart said.

The plan suggests electric vehicle and hydrogen power infrastructure for trucks moving between Cedar City and St. George, the primary population centers this port will serve. But it does not include any details or funding mechanisms for creating such a corridor.

UIPA intends to target industries including light industrial, manufacturing, distribution, agricultural technology, plastics and lumber processing, according to the plan. It also intends to issue a $10 million loan to Commerce Crossroads to build out rail access.

As with port proposals in Salt Lake City, however, the inland port in Cedar City has its detractors.

“It’s become some kind of mechanism for the port authority to justify its existence,” said Deeda Seed with Stop the Polluting Port Coalition, “and it’s a massive handout to these developers.”

Does southwest Utah need an inland port?

In the last year, Iron County imported 477 freight containers, while St. George imported 1,035 containers. That amounts to about four containers per day, making the prospect of two transloading facilities seem excessive.

“If it’s ‘if you build it, they will come,’ that’s a terrible way to develop a business because it’s very uncertain,” Seed said. “And you shouldn’t be throwing public money at a thing like that.”

Hart said BZI is currently shipping its steel, mostly domestically, and has a need for the transloading facility. Asked what other exports the Iron County region produces, he did not provide any specifics.

“When you bring in a facility like this, can you create more volume that creates more consistency?” Hart said. “Does that create more downstream impact for, potentially, an intermodal facility?”

One commodity floated for exports is alfalfa, which came up frequently during public comment at the UIPA board’s Tuesday meeting, given Utah and the Colorado River Basin face significant water shortages.

“Alfalfa is not one of the industries we’re targeting,” Hart said.

More port projects popping up

Cedar City is not the only community moving forward with a rural inland port project. The Tooele County Council has a vote scheduled at 7 p.m. Tuesday to approve its own port south of Interstate 80 near the shore of the Great Salt Lake.

It is not remotely close to the inland port site pushed by The Romney Group, founded by U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney’s son Josh Romney. But state statute allows for ports that are not in contiguous areas — they just need to be in the same county, Hart said. He confirmed he has had discussions with both the Romney Group and Tooele County officials. Any project UIPA approves will need to have two public comment periods first, he added.

Romney’s 12,000-acre proposed port also has the potential to impact the Great Salt Lake. It is seeking construction of a rail spur that would bisect wetlands vital to migrating birds.

“It’s like there’s a frenzy to build inland ports,” Seed said.

Box Elder County, too, approved a resolution in late January supporting the creation of a “satellite port,” although it doesn’t specify where.

Hart is moving away from the “satellite port” terminology, however, because it suggests cargo would move from satellite sites to a “hub” in Salt Lake City, which is not the case. Ports like Iron Springs will have their own cargo routes to seaports or other destinations.

“I would say, for any of the groups that are interested in having a port project area ... we’re always willing to talk to every group,” Hart said. “There are a lot of people in this state concerned with shipping routes.”