Utah restricts fireworks as nation's largest wildfire grows

Gov. Spencer J. Cox ordered temporary statewide fireworks restrictions as Utah battled the Cottonwood Fire, the nation’s largest blaze, and dry brush and gusting winds threatened to turn holiday sparks into new ignitions. The order runs through July 5 and still lets municipalities, in consultation with local fire officials, set aside safe areas where fireworks may be used.

More than 75 percent of Utah’s wildfires this season were human-caused. Prolonged drought, critically dry vegetation and extreme weather have left even small ignitions capable of becoming catastrophic. Officials will later evaluate whether similar restrictions are needed for the July 24 Pioneer Day holiday.

The Cottonwood Fire, which started Monday near Beaver in southern Utah, had grown to 70,992 acres in the National Interagency Fire Center’s incident report and remained 0 percent contained. NIFC’s morning report listed it at 61,137 acres. The fire had grown by more than 10,000 acres in a single day. State forester Jamie Barnes said winds could gust to 40 to 50 mph and humidity could fall into the single digits, conditions already driving extreme fire behavior.

The blaze damaged or destroyed structures including the Eagle Point ski resort and forced mandatory evacuations in Beaver County, including Eagle Point and Merchant Valley. About 1,300 residents in Marysvale, Junction and Circleville were told to be ready to leave if conditions worsened. Smoke drifted hundreds of miles away into Colorado, and haze reached areas near Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks.

More than 1,000 firefighters were battling the Cottonwood Fire as the state faced a rare National Weather Service Particularly Dangerous Situation warning for dry, windy conditions. By Friday evening, Utah had 10 active wildfires burning across more than 144,700 acres. The National Interagency Fire Center said 35,118 fires had burned more than 2.9 million acres nationally so far this year. Patrols were increasing in high-risk areas, and anyone whose illegal actions started a wildfire could face significant criminal and civil consequences.