This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Ten days after it started, southern Utah's stubborn Hicks Creek Fire finally had been hemmed in by federal, state and local firefighters on Wednesday.
Fire Information Officer Jason Curry said the blaze ended up burning 1,456 acres of timber and brush in rugged, steep terrain about 4 miles southeast of Cedar City.
It was sparked by high winds on Oct. 16 from the embers of a previous controlled burn on private land.
Several hundred firefighters from Utah, California, Arizona, Oregon and New Mexico — aided by water- and fire-retardant bearing aircraft — finally had brought the blaze to heel by early Wednesday morning.
However, Curry noted that smoke from the fire still may be visible in the area for several more days.
"Any active fire is well inside the fire containment lines and not expected to pose a threat," he assured, adding that local firefighters will be monitoring the scene until full "controlled" status is declared.
Already, restoration strategies are in the works, Curry said.
"A possibility of flooding and debris flows still exists, and measures are being planned to moderate the effects in the coming weeks and months," he said. "Reseeding projects are in the planning stages and [runoff] diversion bar sites meant to minimize erosion are being proposed."
No injuries had been reported among fire crews, and while several homes initially were evacuated, no structures were lost.
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