Hot, dry weather brings ‘critical’ fire danger to Utah ahead of long weekend

The Little Twist Fire rages in the Fishlake National Forest near Beaver, Utah, on Monday, July 1, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Utah Fire Info)

With much of Utah expected to experience severe wildfires in the coming weeks, restrictions have been imposed and authorities are on edge ahead of the long weekend.

Anyone looking for a rainy break after the one of the warmest Junes ever recorded in Utah will have to wait, said Basil Newmerzhycky, chief meteorologist at the Great Basin Coordination Center, an umbrella organization that includes the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and state agencies.

Summer monsoons, which often bring rain to parts of Utah in the summer, are currently suppressed and “very unlikely” for the rest of July, Newmerzhycky said. That means the fire outlook will only worsen, with vegetation across the state continuing to dry.

“We expect our fuels to dry up to critical levels in the next five to 10 days, probably across the state,” he said Tuesday.

This past weekend, the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands implemented Stage 1 Fire Restrictions for portions of northern Utah. The restrictions, which affect all unincorporated private and state lands in Box Elder, Cache, Rich, Weber, Tooele, Utah, Salt Lake, Davis and Morgan counties, are as follows:

• No fireworks, tracer ammunition, exploding targets or other pyrotechnic devices.

• No open fires unless the fire is located in improved campsites or in permanent fire pits on private property with running water.

• Smoking is not permitted except in an enclosed vehicle or structure, in a landscaped recreation area, or on a paved area.

• Cutting, welding or grinding metal is not permitted near areas with dry vegetation.

• It is illegal to operate a motorcycle, chainsaw, ATV or other small engine without a working and approved spark arrestor.

The restrictions do not apply to incorporated cities and towns, which may have their own restrictions.

“Human-caused wildfires are currently at their highest levels in three years. Again, Utah has had a lot of snow this yearresulting in new growth of grass and shrubs. With all this extra vegetation, it only takes one spark to start a wildfire,” said Dustin Richards, fire protection officer with the division.

The state’s largest fire, the Little Twist Fire in Fishlake National Forest near Beaver, is currently burning more than 2,600 acres and was about 25% contained as of Tuesday, according to data from the U.S. Forest Service. Although it started as a prescribed fire, Newmerzhycky warned that more fires of that size could erupt in Utah as the state continues to dry out.

The big difference between a 300-acre fire and a 3,000-acre fire, he said, is sage. Spring rains bring all sorts of vegetation growth, but grasses dry out the fastest — they’re ready to burn in June or early July. Early summer fires that stay within 100 to 500 acres often result from burned grass.

But sage brush takes longer to dry and can actually slow the spread of early season fires. Newmerzhycky puts it this way: sage is “the only thing that keeps Utah from getting completely out of hand.”

Vegetation is expected to reach critical levels in the next week or so, becoming part of what is called the ‘fire environment’.

“Once the sage dries out at lower elevations, that’s the final straw, and things can really start to pick up. We’re a little concerned about this very hot, dry wave coming this weekend,” he said. New Merzhycky.

Last summer, there were relatively few wildfires. That only makes this summer more dangerous, officials say, resulting in “carried-over fuels.”

“Last year we had a less intense fire season, which makes this year more powerful because a lot of things that could have burned are now coming together with new grass,” said Newmerzhycky.

All of this comes as Utahns prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July. State officials, from the governor to the employees of the public grounds, keep your fingers crossed that the festivities remain responsible.

The Fourth of July is “always concerning,” said New Zealand

“It seems like every year when we have a warm, dry spell here on the Wasatch Front, we have a lot of fires,” he said. “Thursday is going to be a pretty warm day, so we’re worried and holding our breath.”

The post Warm, dry weather brings ‘critical’ fire danger to Utah ahead of long weekend first appeared on Utah News Dispatch.