Utah wildfire poised to be the most destructive in state history as it surpasses 70,000 acres
A wildfire burning in Utah has surpassed 70,000 acres and is poised to become "the most destructive and costly fire" in state history, officials said on Thursday.
Fueled by record drought conditions and blustery winds, the Cottonwood Fire in Beaver County grew by more than 10,000 acres since Wednesday and remains 0% contained, officials said.
The Cottonwood Fire in Beaver County started Monday afternoon, prompting mandatory evacuations of homes and campgrounds, and at one point, completely closed a highway in the mountainous area.
"This is likely the most destructive and costly fire in terms of property damage that the state has ever seen," Jamie Barnes, the Utah State Forester and the Director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said at a news conference on Thursday with Gov. Spencer Cox.
Barnes warned that challenges going into this weekend will increase for the more than 1,000 firefighters battling the blaze.
"The forecast heading into Friday and Saturday includes very strong winds and extremely low humidity," Barnes said. "In some places, we may see gusts of up to 40 to 50 mph and humidity in the single digits."
The Cottonwood Fire ignited around 3:36 p.m. on Monday, threatening populated areas in Beaver County, according to officials. On Wednesday, officials said the fire destroyed the popular Eagle Point ski lodge.
Just after 9 p.m. local time on Monday, residents in the Eagle Point and Merchant Valley areas of Beaver County were ordered to evacuate immediately as flames bore down on the area, authorities said.
Evacuation orders remained in effect on Thursday.
Fire officials said they suspect the Cottonwood Fire is a human-caused blaze, but have released no additional details.
During the news conference, the governor announced that a statewide ban on fireworks is also in effect, including on the Fourth of July holiday, adding, "it will make sure communities are still standing on July 5th."
He added, "I would not do this if it wasn't the worst possible situation that we've ever seen."
The Cottonwood Fire is one of 353 wildfires currently burning across Utah, consuming more than 220 square miles, Barnes said.
Two other wildfires have also burned at least 30,000 acres, Barnes said.
The Cottonwood Fire surpassed the Iron Fire burning in Juab County, about 28 miles southwest of Provo. As of Thursday, the Iron Fire had burned more than 37,000 acres and was 23% contained, Barnes said.
The fire has prompted numerous evacuations in the area, including the complete evacuation of the town of Eureka, which has a population of just over 600.
Barnes said every county in the state is experiencing severe drought, and 23 are in extreme drought. She said any spark can start a fire that can spread up to 1,000 acres in just a few hours.
She said beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, the entire state will move into Stage 2 fire restrictions, banning people from having any outdoor fires on both state and private land.
Before the fire, the National Weather Service had issued red flag fire danger warnings for a large part of the state.
Red flag warnings and fire weather watches are in place across southern and central Utah and through much of western and central Colorado, Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. Strong winds and low humidity are expected to fuel the existing fires and enable new fires to spark and spread rapidly.
