In all of 2023, people started 339 wildfires in Utah. So far this year, that number has already climbed to 398 fires, and it’s only July.
Human-caused fires have burned more land this year — 19,197 acres — than all of Utah’s fires in 2023 combined — 18,061 acres.
After years of fire prevention messaging to residents, this season’s rough start is a frustrating setback, said Kayli Guild, fire communications and prevention coordinator with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
“It does kind of make me a little sad in a way that the numbers are higher. But again, things are just a heck of a lot drier,” she said. “It's just a whole different year, a whole different animal.”
Last year was a temporary respite, the state’s quietest wildfire season in at least two decades. This summer, however, has quickly dried out the landscape. Ample moisture from the past two relatively wet winters drove extra growth among grasses and shrubs, which have now become kindling.
With such dry conditions, Guild said, there’s much less margin for error when someone sparks a blaze with their vehicle, firework or campfire.
Even though Utah’s drought is in better shape than it’s been in a long time, that doesn’t tell the whole story.
“Two weeks of 100-degree temperature may not have a significant impact on long-term drought, but two weeks of 100-degree temperatures sure is gonna have a significant impact on today's grass and today's bushes,” said Gary Bishop, deputy state fire manager with the Bureau of Land Management.
The difference between this year and last year is clear when comparing how much farther 2024’s fires have spread.
Fires in Utah have burned 38,283 total acres so far in 2024. That’s more than 10 times the 3,400 acres burned by this point in the previous fire season. Put another way, 2024’s fires have burned an average of 72.2 acres each. Fires in 2023 only consumed 11.2 acres a piece.
Those high numbers have been driven by a handful of large fires across southern and central Utah.
The state’s largest fires, Silver King in Fishlake National Forest and Deer Springs north of Kanab, have burned tens of thousands of acres collectively. The Little Twist fire southeast of Beaver is only 60% contained more than a month after it started.
Recent fire starts have become worrisome in a hurry, too. The Graff Point fire near Interstate 15 between Cedar City and St. George and the Speirs fire near Flaming Gorge Reservoir have both seen quick growth.
#GraffPointFire update: Natural barriers are allowing firefighters to gain direct access and establish anchor points. However, a Red Flag Warning is in effect for the area, which will increase fire behavior. Evacuations and closures remain in effect for the fire area. #ffslkmg pic.twitter.com/exEBdLbrb6
— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) July 14, 2024
Guild sees this as reminiscent of bad wildfire years from Utah’s recent past. The state is already on track to match the totals from the drought-ravaged year of 2021, she said, when Utah had 1,085 fires and 60,863 acres burned. A worst-case scenario might be 2012 when the state had 1,534 fires and a staggering 415,267 acres burned.
A lot of what happens through the rest of this year could depend on how well Utahns get on board with the state’s fire prevention tips while they travel the state and recreate outdoors.
“I don't know how much more messaging we can (do without) being just point-blank obvious for folks. I hope that they can recognize that it is everybody's part to take it upon themselves.”
Much of Utah is already under a stage one fire restriction, which prohibits open fires. If things stay dry, Guild said southern Utah could be headed for stage two where all fires, including those within fire pits, are banned.
As the fires overlap with Utah’s extreme heat waves, the health of firefighters is an increasing concern. The BLM tries to keep them safe, Bishop said, by making sure they get enough rest, food and water. They also rotate people out of their roles so they don’t get overstressed by the hot weather.
With fire season far from over, he said that’s a worry that won’t go away anytime soon.
“These are men and women that are working today in the month of July, and we're going to ask them to do that again in August and in September and perhaps even into October. So the safety of those firefighters as the season wears on — we're certainly concerned about them.”