As wildfires burn across Utah, State Forester Jamie Barnes said this season is unlike anything Utah firefighters have seen before.
“It’s historic times, folks,” she said Thursday as she stood in Popperton Park near the University of Utah, where the Bonneville Fire came within 100 feet of the Huntsman Cancer Institute earlier this month.
That fire, which burned 566 acres, is tiny compared to the ones in central and southern Utah. At more than 240,000 total acres burned so far, this wildfire season has far surpassed 2025’s 160,000-acre total. And it’s only June.
It’s hard to estimate how much that’s cost the state so far, but Barnes guesses it’s more than $20 million. The 2025 wildfire year was Utah’s most expensive on record, costing more than $191 million total. The federal government owns almost two-thirds of Utah’s land, and it picked up about 85% of the wildfire bill that year.
Federal Emergency Management Agency grants are expected to pay 75% of the costs to stop the Iron and Cottonwood fires in Juab and Beaver counties, respectively. These grants cover firefighting but don’t help with rebuilding, and the money can take years to come.
In general, fire suppression costs go toward things like fire crew wages, equipment, land use and food and camp support, the United States Forest Service wrote in an email responding to KUER’s questions.
And those add up. A 20-person crew costs about $11,000 per day. Fighting fire from the air only adds to that: $2,100 per hour for a helicopter, $3,200 per hour for a single engine airtanker and $8,500 per hour for a heavy one, according to a Forest Service spokesperson.
In the meantime, the state has $120 million set aside to fight fires and help with recovery, Gov. Spencer Cox said at the news conference announcing his statewide emergency order on fireworks. He made the declaration standing alongside Barnes, first responders and civic leaders.
Cox said that the Iron Fire, which forced the evacuation of Eureka, is believed to have been caused by fireworks.
“Those were obviously illegal fireworks, because you can't be lighting fireworks this time of year anyway,” he said.
However they begin, starting fires can have legal consequences. Salt Lake County, for instance, is suing a man who allegedly started a fire at Memory Grove Park. County Mayor Jenny Wilson is asking residents to report people using fireworks and warning that the first offense comes with a $1,000 fine. And the Utah Department of Public Safety is increasing patrols in high-risk areas, said Commissioner Beau Mason.
The state has an attorney assigned to recover wildfire costs, Barnes noted. But getting reimbursed is tricky because people who start fires don’t necessarily have the cash to pay for the damage.
“It's a balance in recovering that money and holding that person accountable,” she said.
Since there’s no specific law tied to starting fires, it’s hard to pin down how much people have paid out.
When federal land is involved, the U.S. Attorney’s Office steps in. Melissa Holyoak, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah, told KUER in an interview that her office often deals with smaller things, such as someone leaving a campfire unattended. Even if a fire doesn’t start, they take legal action because of the high risk.
“We want to make sure, particularly from a deterrent perspective, that folks are actually putting these out,” Holyoak said.
Prosecuting for arson is uncommon because it’s hard to prove that someone intended to start a blaze, Holyoak said, pointing to the Palisades Fire in California. Regardless of whether someone did it on purpose, Holyoak said her office will sue to get some money back. Even if an individual can’t pay, their homeowners’ insurance might.
“We are unfortunately getting pennies on the dollar, but we do recover amounts that can help,” Holyoak said.
Investigations can take years, but she said the high cost makes these cases a priority.
Once a fire is underway, Holyoak worries about drones interfering with suppression efforts. When drones fly, aircraft must be grounded. Conviction for drone interference could bring up to two years in prison, she said. If someone gets injured, that could stretch into a much longer sentence.
“The fires can continue, and they will grow, and every minute counts with these things.”
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
