A series of wildfires burned throughout the U.S. state of Utah during 2023.
Background While the typical wildfire season in Utah varies, most fires occur in between July and October. Fire conditions can heavily depend on monsoons that last from late June to September. Dry monsoons can allow fires to start and spread easier, while wet ones can cause fire relief. Additionally, hot temperatures and overall dry conditions play a large role.
Summary Concerns for a destructive fire season began after Utah's snowpack reached and began melting in spring. However, the start of fire season was late due to high fuel moistures from the snowpack. The El Niño prolonged cool, moist conditions from May through early July. Hot and dry conditions minimally increased fire activity in late July and early August, but was still well below average. Precipitation increased later in August (when 60% of Utah's summer precipitation occurred that year), coming when most vegetation began drying up. Additionally, the temperature that season was the lowest in Utah since 2014, 1.5 °F above the 20th century average. Heavy rains in September effectively brought an end to fire season.
List of wildfires
The following is a list of fires that burned more than , or produced significant structural damage or casualties. NameCounty AcresStart dateContainment DateNotesRefI70 MM 270Grand1,8022023Caused by a rollover crash on Interstate 70. Burned near the Utah/Colorado border and closed Interstate 70. Was 89% contained on July 11.RockyTooele1,300Unknown cause. Burned near Ibapah.Thompson RidgeBeaver7,253Lightning-caused. Burned southeast of Beaver.Light House CanyonEmery2,0372023Lightning-caused. Burned southeast of East Carbon. Was 85% contained on November 6.BoxSevier2,0382023Lightning-caused. Burned northwest of Emery. Due to low fire risk from heavy precipitation and the lateness into the season, firefighters allowed to burn for ecosystem restoration.
See also 2023 Arizona wildfires 2023 Colorado wildfires 2023 New Mexico wildfires Wildfires in 2023
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