ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) -- A preserve that provides habitat for an endangered tortoise became a major focus of firefighters Wednesday, a day after they crews battled another blaze that threatened a small town.
Smaller fires continued to crop up, forcing crews from getting a better hand on the 12,000-acre fire near New Harmony and from mop-up duty closer to St. George, where the state's largest blaze, the 68,264-acre Westside Complex fire, was fully under control as of late Tuesday.
Washington County sheriff's officials on Wednesday briefly ordered evacuation of 12 homes near Anderson Junction because of a new fire. The 20 people affected were allowed to return Wednesday afternoon.
Interstate 15 was closed intermittently during fire suppression efforts. The fire was 80 percent contained by late Wednesday, the Bureau of Land Management said.
Washington County has become eligible for federal aid to help fight the fire, for the second time this year after January flooding caused about $225 million damage to public and private property, Emergency Services Director Dean Cox said. There's no estimate yet of the damage caused by fire this month.
''We've been baptized by water and fire both this year,'' Cox said.
Cox and other officials said at a news conference they were most concerned about a 4,300-acre wildfire burning in the Desert Red Cliff Preserve about 10 miles north of St. George. The fire is burning in the prime location for habitat and native grasses for the endangered desert tortoise.
The fire on the 9-year-old, 61,000-thousand acre preserve is also near a subdivision, but residents there were not under evacuation notice.
The county set up an observation center after so many people descended on the fire Tuesday night, hampering firefighters and creating unsafe conditions, Cox said.
Also Wednesday, the 1,500-acre Wide Canyon fire sprung up about 2 1/2 miles south of the Diamond Valley fire, and within three miles from some homes.
The Blue Springs fire near New Harmony, about 20 miles north of St. George, remained at 50 percent contained, and residents in the Harmony Heights subdivision were amazed at how close the blaze came to their houses after they were allowed to return.
''God was looking out for us. Our property was unharmed,'' said Emily Jones, whose home was within 50 feet of the fire.
Tim and Cindy Reeder were among the nearly 1,000 people told to leave their homes. From a motel room in Cedar City, they watched live television reports indicating many subdivision homes would be a total loss.
They even got a call from a friend in Arizona, who ''saw it on TV and saw our house and said, 'Your house is toast,''' Tim Reeder said.
However, the next call was from Cindy Reeder's boss, a Utah Highway Patrol lieutenant, who said, ''Guess where I am? ... I'm in your kitchen. Your house is fine.''
When they returned, they found all vegetation around their home had burned, but grass, trees and shrubs that they used to landscape their property remained alive and vibrant with color.
''It looks like something from a Frankenstein movie,'' Tim Reeder said Tuesday.
Some of the vinyl siding on their home buckled, causing about $500 damage. But that was the only damage reported to any of the homes evacuated late Monday when the winds shifted and shoved the Blue Springs fire into the development just south of New Harmony. The wind died down just as the fire reached Harmony Heights.
The Reeders found a note from firefighters on their house saying the landscaping had left them the room and ability to ''save your property.''
For years, officials have urged residents in fire-prone areas to landscape with wildfires in mind.
In the New Harmony area, many heeded that call on Sunday as the fire burned toward their community.
Jack Reed spent that day creating a 4,000-square foot perimeter around his Harmony Heights home. He cut down trees, cut back branches and bought sprinklers and hose.
Then on Monday, he and friends rigged the sprinklers on the roof and left them running when they evacuated.
''When we left here, there was a wall of fire at the end of the neighborhood. I've never seen or heard anything like it,'' said his wife, Linda Reed. ''It was obviously very, very scary.''
