Human-caused wildfires continue to burn across Utah
Utah Fire officials concerned with alarming fire conditions
and last updated 2021-05-06 19:31:42-04
SALT LAKE CITY â Just five months into the year and Utah has already had 185 wildfires, with more than 6,000 acres burned across the state; all but three were human caused fires. Conditions are really alarming across the state. We are concerned, said Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL) fire prevention coordinator, Kait Webb. There s drought over almost the entire state right now, and we are anticipating hot and dry summer.
According to FFSL, fire managers across Utah are reporting fuel moisture levels and fire activity not usually seen until the hotter and drier months of June and July.
Deseret News
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Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Less than a year ago, Lehi resident Matt Gonzalez found himself in a “surreal” nightmare as a fast-moving wildfire approached homes along Traverse Mountain.
“It looked like the whole neighborhood was going to catch on fire at one time because, honestly, as close as our houses are if one house caught fire it would have been like a domino effect,” Gonzalez said.
The state experienced 1,547 wildfires in 2020, according to statistics provided by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, and the total cost to suppress those fires reached $60 million. And an ongoing drought impacting Utah is only increasing fire officials worries that 2021 will be worse.
Utah wildland firefighters getting ready for another busy season
CAMP WILLIAMS Wildfire season remains weeks away, but Utah s wildland firefighters are already prepping for what they expect to be another busy year. We had a decent year in regards to precipitation, but we haven t overcome the drought that we ve been in for a long-term period. I think that could come into play, and it definitely worries us, as well, as firefighters, said Matthew McFarland, Unified Fire Authority spokesman.
Capt. Jon Slatore, Unified fire management officer, noted that last year the state saw a high-than-average number of fires, though most weren t considered large in acreage.