Utah Firefighters Get Arms Around Wildfire

Utah firefighters appear to have gained the upper-hand in their battle with a fire that spread over some 12,000 acres in the southwestern part of the state.

Residents in a housing development were forced to evacuate earlier in the week as the fire came very close to the area. As winds settled down on Tuesday, the evacuation order was lifted.

At New Harmony, some 30 miles northwest of St. George, the edge of the brush and grass fire moved to approximately a mile of some homes, however authorities reported that no buildings had been lost in the community located 280 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Meantime, a lightning storm was blamed as the cause of two new wildfires Tuesday that threatened the town of Motoqua, a group of a dozen homes about 25 miles west of St. George. Officials late Tuesday reported the community was no longer in immediate danger from the pair of blazes.

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