One spark in the wrong place — and two fires Thursday might’ve ended with evacuations, officials said.

By early afternoon, separate fires broke out in Iron County — one in Enoch, one in Cedar City — both human-caused. And with gusts up to 40 miles per hour, bone-dry conditions, and a red flag warning already in effect, it could’ve gone very differently if firefighters hadn’t moved as fast as they did.

“We got lucky,” Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips said. “That fire had everything it needed to run — dry fuels, wind, and proximity to homes. But our crews got out fast, and that made the difference.”

The first fire started just after 12:20 p.m. near milepost 62 on Old Highway 91, when a trailer tire threw sparks into the cheatgrass lining the road. It spread quickly, burning five acres

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