Wildfires

So far, 13 homes have been lost. Larry Gardner has lived here for 75 years and says their pioneer heritage will help the community rebuild.

The Forsyth Fire started Thursday in the Pine Valley Mountains and has already burned about 2.3 square miles. It has forced people to evacuate from the Pine Valley community and nearby campgrounds.

The company uses three types of power cuts to prevent fires. Outages are a health and safety risk, so utilities should use them “surgically,” said Utah’s utility consumer advocate.

“Anytime we have to ground resources because of unauthorized drones in a wildfire area, it delays the containment of that fire longer,” said one fire management officer. That can put nearby communities and firefighters at risk

Nationwide, tens of thousands of Indigenous households use firewood to help heat their homes. That's why the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California is making sure their elders have the chopped wood they need.

Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming all have seen rates at least tripled between 2018 and 2023, according to a Mountain West News Bureau analysis. In Utah's Summit County, cancellations jumped from fewer than 100 to 316 in the same period.

Northern and Southern Utah have been in two different worlds over the winter when it comes to snowpack.

Workers who maintained trails, removed combustible debris from forests and secured funding for wildfire mitigation projects say the loss of these federal positions could impact public safety.

In the Western U.S., extreme wildfires are damaging tribal lands. Climate change has only made the situation more dire. That’s why the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California is working to reintroduce intentional, cultural fire.

Utah communities from Washington County to the Wasatch Front face some of the nation’s highest risk for wildfires. As the Los Angeles fires show, the off-season for wildfires is disappearing, but there are things Utahns can do to prepare.

There was little respite from the heat in Utah last year, even with overnight lows. Salt Lake City, Bountiful, Provo and Kanab all saw their warmest minimum temperatures on record, too.

Tackling climate change isn’t a top priority for Republicans, but Benji Backer says that can change.