ST. GEORGE — The remains of a small, controlled burn in the backyard of a St. George home that became uncontrolled is considered the cause of a short-lived shed fire the fire department responded to Monday evening.

While it turned out not to be a major incident, firefighters want to remind the public to be careful regarding residential burns.

Fire crews responded to the report of a shed fire around 9:20 p.m. at a residence on 100 South, west of the city cemetery. While en route, firefighters were informed the homeowner had been able to put out the fire, St. George Fire Battalion Chief Darren Imlay said.

Two fire engines and a team of firefighters still responded to the incident as there was concern the fire may not be completely out and that there could still be smoldering in spaces unseen by the homeowner.

“We did find an extension (of the fire) and put it out,” Imlay said, adding that not hunting down unseen spot fires can result in the fire flaring back to life and cause additional damage and potential injury.

Once firefighters were satisfied the fire was completely out, they began to vacate the scene by 10:15 p.m.

Imlay told St. George News people need to be careful when burning debris in their backyards. Particularly, they need to make sure their burn piles are completely out and not smoldering and are not close to any structures that could catch fire as the shed momentarily had.

“This is the time of year people clean up their yards and do controlled burns,” he said. “You just have to be real careful about burning around structures and not leaving anything smoldering because it can cause a problem.”

A smoldering pile of debris leftover from an agriculture burn is believed to be the cause of the 40-plus acre fire that burned along the Virgin River near the Springs Estates earlier this month.

The legal spring burn season in Washington County runs from March 1 to May 30 and in fall from Sept. 15 to Nov. 5.

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