2020 Utah wildfires

The 2020 Utah Wildfire season is the series of prominent wildfires throughout the state of Utah, lasting from June 1 through October 30, as defined by state law.[2] The first major fire of the season, the Saddle Fire of May 12th, marked the beginning of the season.[3]

2020 Utah wildfires
Statistics[1]
Total fires	992
Total area	192,444 acres
Date(s)	May 12, 2020 - present
Cause	Lightning, firearm recreation, fireworks, machinery, arson

Early outlook

On May 27, Utah observed 237 wildfires (of which 95% were human-caused); a near fourfold increase compared to the previous season's 67 wildfires recorded at that same date.[4] Throughout the early season, record-breaking numbers of fires exceeded previous season equivalents.[5] This, coupled with the abnormally hot and dry spring[6][7] led fire officials, meteorologists, and hydrologists to believe that the season would be unusually active.[8][4]

Wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.

Name	County	Acres	Start date	Containment date	Notes	Ref
Saddle	Wasatch	683	May 12	May 22	A juvenile was taken into custody on alleged connection to the Saddle Fire, and 3 other fires in the local area.	[9][10][11]
Anderson Junction	Washington	786	May 18	May 19	Caused by vehicle dragging chains, 3 structures destroyed.	[9][12]
Tabby Canyon	Tooele	13,378.1	May 30	June 2	Caused by exploding target. Merged with North Stansbury Fire on June 1st at 6,848.8 acres.	[9][13]
North Stansbury (Tabby Canyon)	Tooele	5,336.9	June 1	June 2	Caused by heavy equipment use. Merged with Tabby Canyon Fire, lost its name.	[9][14]
Bar H	Box Elder	1,352	June 3	June 4	Caused by lightning.	[9][15]
Matlin	Box Elder	6,292	June 3	June 4	Caused by lightning.	[9][15]
Elberta	Utah	1,977	June 5	June 8	Human-caused.	[9][16]
Promontory	Weber	1,000	June 6	June 8	Caused by lightning.	[9][17][18]
Lucin	Box Elder	780	June 12	June 12	Human-caused, partially burned a historic trestle from the Transcontinental Railroad Grade.	[9][19]
Big Springs	Tooele	2,912	June 14	June 16	Human-caused, 11 structures destroyed.	[9][20][21]
Rock Path	Millard, Beaver	20,941	June 25	July 1	Caused by lightning. Merged with Antelope Fire on June 27th at 6,000+ acres.	[9][22][23]
Antelope (Rock Path)	Millard, Beaver	3,000+	June 25	July 1	Caused by lightning. Merged with Rock Path Fire, lost its name.	[9][22][24]
Canal	Millard, Juab	78,065	June 27	July 13	Caused by lightning. 100% contained on June 27th at 450 acres, escaped containment on June 28th due to strong winds. Destroyed 34 structures.	[9][25][26]
Wire Pass	Kane	1,588	June 26	July 2	Caused by lightning. Started north of the Utah-Arizona border above the Mangum Fire within relatively close proximity.	[9][27][28]
Knolls	Utah	12,979	June 28	July 3	Human-caused. 3,100+ homes evacuated in Saratoga Springs, an estimated 13,000+ people. 1 home destroyed, 12 damaged.	[9][29][30]
Lund	Iron	837	July 4	July 4	Human-caused, 1 structure and 2 cars destroyed.	[9][31]
Big Summit	Iron, Lincoln	8,461	July 13	July 21	Started near Panaca, Nevada, and crossed into Utah on July 14. Evacuations in Hamlin Valley, destroyed 1 structure.	[9][32][33]
Veyo West	Washington	2,618	July 13	July 23	Human-caused, 7 structures destroyed.	[9][34]
Turkey Farm Road	Washington	11,993	July 13	July 19	Caused by fireworks, 1 structure destroyed.	[9][35]
Howell Peak	Millard	1,885	July 19			[9]
Cottonwood Trail	Washington	1,631	July 19	July 21	Caused by a blown tire.	[9][36]
Dennis Hill	Box Elder	2,658	July 20	July 26	Human-caused.	[9]
Pine Hollow	Kane, Coconino	11,405	July 29	August 5	Caused by lightning one mile south of the Utah-Arizona border, and crossed into Utah. It entered the perimeter of the Wire Pass fire that burned a month prior.	[9][37][38]
Hollow	Sanpete, Utah	1,416	July 31	August 3	Human-caused, destroyed 2 structures.	[9][39]
Richard Mountain	Daggett, Sweetwater	7,632	August 3		Started in Wyoming, and crossed into Utah on the same day.	[9][40][41]
As of August 12, 2020 (UTC) Live fire updates: https://utahfireinfo.gov/active-wildfires

See also

• 2020 Arizona wildfires
• 2020 Nevada wildfires

References

1. https://gacc.nifc.gov/gbcc/predictive/products/gbytd-byState.htm
2. "Burn Permits and Fire Code | Utah DNR – FFSL (Forestry, Fire and State Lands)". ffsl.utah.gov. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
3. "May 2020". Retrieved June 29, 2020.
4. "Utah is off to a scary start for wildfire season due to a dry spring and careless campers". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
5. "Utah's Wildfire season: Why the 2020 season is off to a dangerous start". ABC4 Utah. June 24, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
6. "Dry spring concerns Utah hydrologists". KSTU. May 25, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
7. Dunphey, Kyle (May 16, 2020). "A dry spring and global pandemic has Utah's wildland firefighters bracing for an 'above normal' season". Deseret News. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
8. "Dangerous fire season expected in Utah". KSTU. May 27, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
9. https://gacc.nifc.gov/sacc/predictive/intelligence/NationalLargeIncidentYTDReport.pdf
10. Price, Virginia. "Saddle Fire – May 19, 2020". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
11. "Officials: Saddle Fire 100% contained". ABC4 Utah. May 16, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
12. "'Anderson Junction Fire' near Toquerville is 100% contained". KSTU. May 19, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
13. Lenkowski, Hannah. "Tabby Canyon and North Stansbury Fires Update 6/01/2020". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
14. Lenkowski, Hannah. "Tabby Canyon Fire and North Stansbury Fire Update 6/02/2020". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
15. "4 wildfires in Box Elder County burned over 8,000 acres". ABC4 Utah. June 5, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
16. "Portion of Highway 6 closed due to fire near Goshen". ABC4 Utah. June 6, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
17. "Promontory Fire Grows To 1,000 Acres; Doppler Radar Protected". KSLTV.com. June 6, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
18. "Crews responding to a new fire near Promontory Point". ABC4 Utah. June 6, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
19. Staff, Gephardt Daily (June 13, 2020). "Lucin Fire in Box Elder County 80% contained, fire crews protect historic features". Gephardt Daily. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
20. utahfireadmin. "Big Springs Fire in Tooele County". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
21. Staff, Gephardt Daily (June 16, 2020). "Update: Big Springs Fire, Lincoln Fire now 100% contained; Orchard Fire 50% contained". Gephardt Daily. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
22. Abel, Kevin. "Rock Path Fires Update 6/30/2020". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
23. "Wildfire updates: Rock Path Fire 100% contained; Knolls Fire 97% contained". www.ksl.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
24. Lenkowski, Hannah. "Antelope and Rock Path Update 6/26/2020 (prior to merge)". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
25. "Canal Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
26. "'Canal Fire' jumps containment lines, scorches thousands of acres (containment escape info)". KSTU. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
27. Howell, Nick. "Wire Pass Fire update for Monday, June 29". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
28. "Kane County brush fire forces evacuation of The Wave and Buckskin trails". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
29. Peak, Kari. "Knolls Fire Update 7/2/2020". Retrieved July 5, 2020.
30. "Crews fully contain Knolls blaze as National Weather Service issues fire watch". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
31. "Crews battle wildfire in Iron County, 837 acres". ABC4 Utah. July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
32. "Big Summit Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
33. Roberts, Alyssa (July 14, 2020). "Fire sparked in Nevada forces evacuations in Iron County". KUTV. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
34. Abel, Kevin. "Veyo West Fire – 7/18/20 (Final Release)". Retrieved July 19, 2020.
35. Abel, Kevin. "Turkey Farm Road Fire – 7/19/20". Retrieved July 20, 2020.
36. Abel, Kevin. "Cottonwood Trail Fire – 7/20/20". Retrieved July 21, 2020.
37. "Campground Evacuated As Pine Hollow Fire Burns 8K Acres". KSLTV.com. July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
38. "Pine Hollow Fire near Kanab grows beyond 11,000 acres, moves into previous Wire Pass Fire area". Retrieved August 2, 2020.
39. Webb, Kaitlyn. "Hollow Fire Fact Sheet". Retrieved August 4, 2020.
40. Peak, Kari. "Richard Mountain Fire Update 8/9/2020". Retrieved August 10, 2020.
41. "Wildfire that started in Wyoming burns across Utah border into Dagget County, officials say". ABC4 Utah. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.

External links

• https://gacc.nifc.gov/gbcc/predictive/products/gbytd-byState.htm - GBCC Great Basin data
• https://utahfireinfo.gov/active-wildfires - Active wildfires in Utah
• https://gacc.nifc.gov/sacc/predictive/intelligence/NationalLargeIncidentYTDReport.pdf - Historical database for large incidents (wildfires, NIFC)