Extreme heat, drought, and gusty winds helped fuel multiple wildfires across the US West on Sunday, including Utah’s Iron Fire, which led to the evacuation of Eureka, Utah, and continued to grow as officials warned fire danger remains high.
Heat and wind pushed flames faster than crews could contain them across the US West on Sunday, turning dry land into tinder and prompting evacuations in Utah and Arizona.
In Juab County, Utah, an uncontained wildfire known as the Iron Fire forced the evacuation of Eureka, a town about 70 miles southwest of Salt Lake City with a population of 1,000. People at a nearby ranch also had to leave.
The fire was first detected Saturday and had blackened 34 square miles (87 square kilometers), authorities said. By Sunday, no homes had been lost, and Utah’s multiagency wildfire operation, Utah Fire Info, said firefighters carried out a successful backburn operation intended to protect the town.
Even with that progress, fire officials cautioned that the situation could worsen quickly. Kelly Wickens. a fire prevention specialist with the Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands. said the fire was continuing to grow amid drought conditions. Wickens said it was human-caused and remained under investigation.
Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox visited the town Sunday. “We knew that there was going to be extreme fire danger, and sure enough we had multiple fires,” Cox said, as the state dealt with several blazes at once.
The Iron Fire was one of six fires burning in Utah at varying levels of containment.
Farther east, the southwest corner of Colorado was under a red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service until Monday because of gusty winds and low relative humidity.
In Arizona, a wildfire near Sedona prompted evacuations over the weekend. That blaze burned about 300 acres (120 hectares) of steep and rugged terrain near Oak Creek Canyon. As of Sunday afternoon, it remained uncontained, and residents who evacuated earlier were still not being allowed to return home.
Across the West, forecasters warned that above-average temperatures—stretching from the Rockies to the Pacific coast—were expected to continue. Officials said the prolonged combination of dry, hot weather and relatively low humidity is raising the risk of fire danger.
Much of Utah is experiencing severe to extreme drought, while parts of Arizona and Colorado are experiencing severe drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.
The extreme heat has also been deadly. Three hikers died last week in two separate incidents in the Grand Canyon. Temperatures were expected to climb again on Sunday in the Southwest, with a forecast of up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 C) in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Outside the drought-stressed Southwest, conditions still produced fire activity. In Miami-Dade County, Florida, a brush fire spread across 2,000 acres (800 hectares) on Saturday.
With drought in place and winds capable of driving flames toward communities, Sunday’s wildfires underscored how quickly the US West can turn from hot weather into a full-scale emergency.
wildfires Iron Fire Eureka Utah evacuation Juab County Spencer J. Cox drought conditions red flag warning Colorado Sedona Arizona wildfire Oak Creek Canyon Grand Canyon heat deaths Miami-Dade brush fire US Drought Monitor
So they just let it burn til it hits houses? SMH.
Extreme heat and wind again… feels like this is happening every summer now. If it’s human-caused why are they “investigating” instead of just fixing whatever caused it?
Backburn operation sounds good but I don’t get it, like aren’t they still burning the same land? Also Eureka is only 70 miles from Salt Lake so why wasn’t it stopped way earlier.
Human-caused is such a broad thing though… could’ve been lightning or a “campfire” or whatever. My cousin said the wind was basically blowing the fire into Utah from Arizona which makes no sense but yeah it’s probably all connected. Anyway I’m glad no homes were lost yet, but “could worsen quickly” means they’ll be evacuating again tomorrow.