If Utah’s wildfire season felt quieter than usual this year, that’s because it was.
Utah has experienced only 762 wildfires this year as of Oct. 19, according to data from the National Interagency Fire Center. That’s fewer fires than any other year since at least 2002, the earliest year the NIFC released statewide data.
No other recent years come close to that total, either. This year’s low number is 168 fewer than the state’s previous benchmark of 930 fires set in 2015.
“It'll be one to remember,” said Paula Imlay, a fire prevention specialist with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. “It's nice for some of us to kind of sit back and regroup after 2020 and 2021 were brutal.”
The number of acres burned in 2023 is also way down — 17,970 acres statewide. That’s the second-lowest total of any year since 2002, according to the NIFC data.
Nick Howell, a Bureau of Land Management fire management specialist for southwest Utah, said there’s been noticeable relief in his corner of the state, too. Southwest Utah started out as the canary in the coal mine but saw just 219 fires and around 2,200 acres burned this year, he said, down from 280 fires and more than 7,100 acres in 2022.
“We'll take any win we can get,” he said. “The unfortunate part is, even in a year like this, there's still too many fires.”
What made this year an outlier? Frankly, it’s been downright wet around here.
It started in the winter and spring with atmospheric rivers and off-the-charts snowpack. Mild temperatures in June got the summer fire season off to a slow start, although July heat made up for it. And timely monsoon rains helped the summer end on a soggy note. August was more humid than usual and even the desert of St. George set a new precipitation record.
That wet weather after years of extreme drought particularly benefited places like Washington County, Imlay said. That’s because grass, sage and other desert plants respond to moisture — and therefore become less explosive wildfire fuel — more quickly than mountainside trees.
“We've been in a drought for so long that [those trees] are going to take a lot of wet years before their fuel moisture comes up and they're out of risk,” Imlay said.
Another big factor this year: Utahns just sparked fewer fires.
Only 45% of Utah’s wildfires were caused by humans in 2023. That’s the lowest percentage since at least 2018, according to NIFC data, and down from a peak of 77% in 2020.
Imlay attributed much of that trend to fire prevention awareness efforts, such as Utah Fire Sense which launched in 2021. The drop in human-caused fires this year, she said, shows the messages plastered on billboards, online ads and even gas pumps statewide are sinking in.
“I definitely think that they're starting to pick up on the campaign,” Imlay said. “We just still want to urge people to not get complacent.”
The slower-than-average season also meant wildland fire teams have had more time for proactive work, such as creating prescribed fire plans or getting in extra training.
Howell said he was able to pay more visits to communities at high risk for wildfire — helping them create evacuation plans, clear vegetation close to homes and add signage to help firefighters navigate during emergencies.
“The biggest thing that 2023 brought to me personally is it enabled me to focus on some other programs that typically don't get the attention that they deserve,” he said.
His team was even able to send some personnel to assist local crews in Canada with the unprecedented fire season there.
The lower number of Utah fires also meant local firefighters who depend on that income didn’t have as much work as previous years. Many state fire crews are paid by the hour, Imlay said, so having a lighter schedule came with tradeoffs.
“It’s definitely a double-edged sword because it's nice to have that downtime and be able to spend time with your family. But then you're also not feeling that adrenaline or that financial stability.”
In a place where wildfire risk factors are among the highest in the country, however, fire officials know this year’s lull likely won’t last. In fact, 2023’s wet weather — while welcome relief in the short term — could also mean even higher fire danger down the road. That’s because the above-average precipitation Utah received has fueled extra plant growth, Howell said.
“If you look back through history, when you have these really heavy, wet years … you really do run a huge risk the following year of having a huge fire season,” he said. “So we're definitely going to be anxiously awaiting the next year, even before it gets here.”
