This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
The Hicks Creek Fire had been 53 percent contained as of Friday, as crews used cooler, wetter weather to their advantage in bringing the 1,112-acre southern Utah blaze to heel.
The fire, whipped up on Oct. 16 by high winds from a previous controlled burn on private property, continued to smolder in timber, brush, oak, pinyon and juniper about 4 miles southeast of Cedar City.
However, as of Friday, about 260 firefighters — with support from helicopters and air tankers bombarding hot spots with water and fire retardant chemicals — had boxed in encroaching flames on the fire's critical, heavily-forested southeastern edge.
"There are upright dead and leaning trees throughout that entire stand of timber," said Fire Incident Commander Chris Henrie. "Putting firefighters [directly] into that overgrown area to build fire containment lines would be not only really dangerous, but it would be slow going work."
Along with building fire breaks along the perimeter and attacking the interior flames from overhead, crews were using "back firing" operations to deny the blaze new fuels should it suddenly spread. Such tactics likely will continue throughout the weekend, Henrie said.
It is hoped some crews can be released late Sunday, if conditions continue to improve on the ground. Firefighters hope to have the flames completely contained as of early next Wednesday morning.
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