This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Gusty winds are suspected to have rekindled an intended "controlled burn" set last week on private land into a 1,033-acre southern Utah wildfire by Monday evening.
Iron County Sheriff's Lt. Del Schlosser said three homes were evacuated after initially being threatened by the Hicks Creek Fire, burning about 3 miles southwest of Cedar City. Homeowners in the Cedar Highlands subdivision also were warned to be ready to evacuate on short notice.
With rain showers pelting the area and winds relenting Monday, the fire was reported to have died down.
Earlier, winds of 25-40 mph, gusting to 60 mph, had fanned flames from Cedar Mountain toward Kanarraville Mountain. The fire was visible to pre-dawn motorists on Interstate 15.
In addition to county crews, firefighters from Cedar City, state and federal forest services and the Bureau of Land Management reportedly were mobilized — 71 firefighters were on the scene Monday.
Water-bearing helicopters and fire retardant air tankers were on order in case the blaze flares anew.
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