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Crews had completely contained a 248-acre southwestern Utah blaze on Thursday evening.
Fire information officer Nick Howell said that about 60 firefighters, with water-bearing helicopters held in reserve to handle any flare-ups, were battling the flames burning in cheat grass, brush, pinyon and juniper trees northeast of Toquerville near Highway 17.
At about 7 p.m. Thursday, he said the fire has been 100 percent contained. Crews were still working in the area focusing on suppressing hot spots and will continue mop-up operations.
The fire was blamed on a man who was burning debris late Monday morning. He since has been cited for improper burning.
No structures have been lost and no serious injuries have been reported due to the fire, though two firefighters reportedly were treated for heat exhaustion on Tuesday.
Howell said firefighters from the Bureau of Land Management, national and state parks, forest services and Hurricane, Leeds, Washington City, St. George and Hildale, got the upper hand on the blaze Wednesday evening.
"That's when we had our big turning point, that's when the fire passed its critical point. We got through the heat of the day without the fire spreading and were able to complete a lot of the fire line work," he said.
The remoteness of the fire, burning on BLM high desert acreage with little road access, proved to be a challenge for crews. However, increased humidity ahead of an expected weekend storm system — one which ironically has triggered a "Red Flag" fire warning for southern Utah going into the weekend — slowed the growth of the blaze late Wednesday and early Thursday.
Tribune reporter Jessica Miller contributed to this story.