Utah declares emergency as wildfires threaten July Fourth celebrations

Utah declared a state of emergency and imposed temporary limits on personal fireworks as fast-moving wildfires burned across the state and forecasters warned that hot, dry winds could drive explosive fire growth ahead of July Fourth celebrations.

Gov. Spencer Cox issued the order as the Cottonwood Fire in southern Utah grew into the largest active wildfire in the United States. The fire, discovered Monday in a sparsely populated area, had burned nearly 72,000 acres by Friday and remained 0% contained, according to Utah fire officials. It severely damaged Eagle Point ski resort in Beaver County, forced mandatory evacuations and burned cabins and other structures nearby.

“This year is different,” Cox said as he announced restrictions running through July 5. His executive order gives state forester Jamie Barnes authority to restrict or prohibit fireworks displays in Utah cities and towns, temporarily overriding limits on that power. Cox said local fire chiefs and officials could still identify places where fireworks are allowed if conditions permit.

“It’s not about taking decisions away from local communities. In fact, we want to put local knowledge at the center of this process,” Cox said. “We think this strikes the right balance.”

The National Weather Service office in Salt Lake City issued its first “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning,” an unusually severe alert for five Utah counties, including the area around the Cottonwood Fire. “Prepare now for rapid fire growth,” the warning said.

Chase Thomason, a meteorologist for KUTV, described the alert as “EXTREMELY RARE,” writing that wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph or more, combined with hot temperatures and extremely dry air, “could cause explosive wildfire growth.”

Fire crews faced those conditions Friday. Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the Cottonwood Fire, said sustained winds had reached 35 mph, with gusts around 45 mph.

“So there has been a great increase in the fire activity,” Mason said. “We are seeing extreme fire behavior out there with some crown runs and definitely some spotting.”

State data cited by CBS News showed 10 active Utah wildfires burning more than 144,700 acres as of Friday evening. The Guardian, citing the state wildfire dashboard earlier Friday, reported nine active wildfires across more than 143,000 acres. The state has recorded more than 370 wildfires this year, and officials say most were caused by humans.

The Cottonwood Fire’s cause was unknown. But Cox’s order noted that people have caused most Utah fires this year. CBS News reported that 273 of 376 wildfires had been human-caused, while The Guardian reported that all but 100 of 373 fires had been caused by humans.

The fire sent a smoke plume visible for hundreds of miles, including as far as Colorado. Authorities warned roughly 1,300 residents in Marysvale, Junction and Circleville to be ready to leave if conditions worsened. Smoke was pushing east and northeast; CBS News reported air quality at Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks had not been significantly affected beyond haze near Bryce, while The Guardian reported smoke was affecting air quality at those popular vacation spots.

Some residents returned to find deep losses. Bruce Brown, 76, accompanied the sheriff Thursday and found his cabin and others destroyed. Alyssa Olsen, 27, said her family’s cabin also burned. It was where relatives took their last family photos with her grandmother before she died of cancer, and where her brother planned to marry in two months.

“That stuff you can’t just build back,” Olsen said.

Crews were also battling the Iron Fire southwest of Salt Lake City, which forced the temporary evacuation of Eureka, a town of about 1,000 people. Rocky Mountain Power issued a public safety power shut-off watch or warning for areas of central, southern and eastern Utah through the weekend.

Red flag warnings stretched Friday from Idaho to southern Arizona and New Mexico, with winds of 25 to 35 mph and very low humidity expected into Saturday. Much of Utah is in severe to extreme drought, and parts of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico are in severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Nationally, nearly 3 million acres have burned since the start of the year, putting the United States ahead of the 10-year average, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.