A series of major wildfires are currently burning throughout the U.S. state of Utah.
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 The 2025–26 winter was the warmest on record for Utah and had one of the lowest recorded snowpack for the state, leaving many fuels dry enough to foster fire conditions as early as March. In Southern Utah, vegetation is some of the driest as it has been the past century. Forecasts predict a potentially active monsoon season, however, it is likely to be late onset until late July.
For June 2026, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) has predicted above-average fire potential throughout all of Utah, with the Great Basin Coordination Center predicting the highest fire activity in Northern Utah from August to September.
In June, drought and multi-day red flag conditions fueled multiple fast-moving and significant wildfires, with the largest at the time being the Iron fire and Cottonwood fire. These fires and other fires around them resulted in a state and nationwide response that required numerous resources. Three firefighters were killed and two were sent to the hospital on June 27 when the Snyder fire overran them as they were trying to take shelter; a fourth died from injuries sustained in the fire on July 24. That fire has since crossed into neighboring Colorado. The babylon fire exploded a few days after these fires started grabbing resources from other states, showcasing just how dry and volatile the fuels were.
On June 25, Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced a temporary statewide fireworks restrictions amid historic wildfire conditions, as woodland firefighters fought blazes around the state. In the announcement, it was noted that human causes were suspected in 75% of the wildfires in the state thus far in 2026.https://governor.utah.gov/press/gov-cox-announces-temporary-statewide-fireworks-restrictions-amid-historic-wildfire-conditions/
List of wildfires
The following is a list of fires that burned more than , produced significant structural damage, or resulted in casualties. NameCountyAcresStart dateContainment dateNotesImageRef.Wild HorseJuab, MillardBurned south of Leamington and caused power outages.TowerMillardBurned south of Scipio. Closed U.S. 50. Impacted air quality throughout Utah.South MountainTooeleHuman-caused. Burned west of Stockton and caused power outages.SawmillIronCause under investigation. Prompted evacuations and burned northwest of Lund.IronUtah, Juab, TooeleHuman-caused. Burned just to the west of Eureka, reaching the north end of town and caused evacuations for the whole town. Merged with the Cherry fire on June 26.HastingsTooeleUnknown cause. Burned near Hastings Pass and impacted recreation.CottonwoodBeaver, PiuteUnknown cause. Burning near Beaver moving east then evacuated Eagle Point. Grew past 10,000 acres in a few hours on its first day, required a unified response with over 1,000 firefighters.CherryJuab, TooeleJune 26Merged with the Iron Fire and grew rapidly after merging with multiple other fires shortly after ignition. Prompting evacuations.Wild GooseMillardJune 26Closed U.S. 50 and prompting evacuations.BabylonSan JuanClosing portions of Manti-La Sal National Forest and grew aggressively to the north, 5 structures destroyed.SnyderGrand, Mesa (CO)June 27Killed four helitack firefighters in Colorado. Prompted pre-evacuations and grew to 28,000 acres in one day, which forced firefighters to temporarily stop fighting the fire.StookeyTooeleHuman-caused. Burned in the Onaqui Mountains west of Last Chance Lakes. Prompting evacuations for recreational areas.Widemouth 2Millard, SevierLightning-caused. Burning south of Kanosh and prompting evacuations.Black CanyonEmery, SanpeteLightning-caused. Burning in Manti-La Sal National Forest. Prompting evacuations and closing forest roads and trails.Johnson CanyonBox ElderCause under investigation. Burned in Tremonton.
See also 2026 Arizona wildfires 2026 Colorado wildfires 2026 Idaho wildfires 2026 Nevada wildfires 2026 New Mexico wildfires 2026 United States wildfires 2026 Wyoming wildfires
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