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  "path": "/environment/2026/06/26/utah-fires-by-the-numbers/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-27T03:22:23.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.deseret.com",
  "tags": [
    "largest fire in the nation",
    "utwx",
    "pic.twitter.com/XyYu16qgYd",
    "June 25, 2026",
    "National Interagency Fire Center",
    "Gov. Cox orders statewide firework restrictions amid dangerous conditions",
    "$10.5 million",
    "Cottonwood Fire might set cost records after destroying southern Utah resort, Cox says",
    "Utah, feds expand fire restrictions as extreme drought continues to grip state",
    "more than 363,000",
    "Smoke, fires continue to blaze throughout Utah",
    "@NWSSaltLakeCity"
  ],
  "textContent": "The National Weather Service has issued the first formal particularly dangerous situation red flag warning in the Utah region currently engulfed by the Cottonwood Fire, the largest fire in the nation.\n\n> Below is a map of central and southern Utah and the current Red Flag Warnings in effect. All areas in pink have a high risk for rapid fire growth if a fire starts. Areas outlined in purple are of most concern and are in a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS). #utwx pic.twitter.com/XyYu16qgYd\n>\n> — NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) June 25, 2026\n\nUtah is one of 11 states currently reporting large fires. As of Friday, 35,247 fires have occurred in Utah since the start of the year — more fires to date than any year in the past decade.\n\nFires continue to spread statewide, and they won’t be stopping anytime soon. The National Interagency Fire Center warned Friday that low humidity and gusty winds could cause “explosive, wind-driven growth” across Utah, Nevada and Arizona.\n\nGov. Cox orders statewide firework restrictions amid dangerous conditions\n\n### Firefighting resources are ‘stretched to the limit’\n\nUtah has seen 363 total wildfires this season, most of which are human caused, as of Friday morning. These fires have burned more than 150,000 acres of land.\n\nMore than 1,000 personnel are actively fighting fires across the state, including 27 crews, 40 engines and multiple aircraft.\n\n“We’ve stretched our firefighting resources to the limit,**\"** Gov. Spencer Cox said in a press conference on Thursday.\n\nAll 29 of Utah’s counties have moved to Stage 2 fire restrictions, which prohibit all open fires on state and private lands.\n\n“Our firefighters have been working around the clock, our resources are stretched, and we cannot afford preventable ignitions during the days ahead,” Jamie Barnes, director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said in a press release.\n\n### Utahns are ‘put at risk of losing everything’ due to large, human-caused fires\n\nMost of the burned land is a result of the six fires that have been classified as large wildfires, only one of which is completely contained.\n\nThe largest of these fires is the Cottonwood Fire in Beaver County, which had burned more than 70,000 acres of land and was 0% contained as of Friday. An estimated $10.5 million in state funds has been spent to suppress the fire and 491 responders are on site, yet the fire continues to grow, spreading by almost 10,000 acres in the last 24 hours.\n\nCottonwood Fire might set cost records after destroying southern Utah resort, Cox says\n\n“This is likely the most destructive and costly fire in terms of property damage that the state has ever seen,” Barnes told the Deseret News.\n\nThe Cottonwood Fire is the largest burning fire in the nation, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).\n\nOther large, active wildfires in Utah include the Iron Fire in Juab County, the Hastings Fire in Iron County and the Bonneville Fire in Salt Lake County, all of which were human caused. This differs from past years, when most large wildfires were caused by natural forces.\n\n“I was on Iron Fire helping with evacuations,” said Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety. “Those individuals were put at risk of losing everything because of the reckless actions of someone else.”\n\nNew fires are continually being discovered, including eight started within the last 24 hours. Almost 3 million acres of land have been burned since the start of the year, according to NIFC.\n\n“We are seeing fire behavior that even our most experienced firefighters say they’ve never witnessed before,” Cox said.\n\nUtah, feds expand fire restrictions as extreme drought continues to grip state\n\n### A look at the most historic Utah fires in two decades\n\nThe largest fire in Utah within the last 20 years was the Milford Flat Fire in 2007, when a lightning strike lit a flame that grew to burn more than 363,000 acres of land.\n\nTwo similarly-named fires in 2018, Goose Creek and Pole Creek, are among the top five, burning an estimated 132,000 and 101,000 acres respectively. Both fires were caused by lightning.\n\nLightning was also the cause of a 2020 fire on the slope of the Uinta Mountains, named the East Fork Fire, that burned 89,000 acres of land.\n\nThe Clay Springs Fire in 2012 is the largest Utah fire within 20 years to be caused by arson. It burned 107,000 acres of land.\n\nSmoke, fires continue to blaze throughout Utah\n\nBarnes said the effort and funds required to fight fires this year is trending above average compared to past years.\n\n“This is unlike anything we’ve seen in recent memory,” Barnes said in a press release. “We’re seeing fires spread farther and faster under conditions that defy historical expectations. Some of the fires we’ve responded to this year are behaving in ways veteran firefighters simply haven’t seen before.”\n\nIf the current conditions continue, the 2026 fire season could rival the most devastating seasons in Utah’s history.\n\n“I can’t overemphasize enough, guys, this year is different,” Cox said. “It’s different than any other year that any of us have experienced.”",
  "title": "Utah fires: By the numbers"
}