Scorching temperatures, drought, and gusty winds combined to spark a series of wildfires across the Western United States on Sunday, including a major uncontained fire in Utah that forced an entire town to evacuate.
The Iron Fire, burning in Utah’s Juab County, was first spotted on Saturday and had burned through 34 square miles (87 square kilometers) by Sunday. Located roughly 70 miles (113 kilometers) southwest of Salt Lake City, the fire triggered the evacuation of Eureka — a town of about 1,000 residents — as well as people living at a nearby ranch.
No homes were destroyed, and UTAH Fire Info, a multiagency operation, reported on X that firefighters carried out a successful backburn operation to help shield the town from the advancing flames.
Kelly Wickens, a fire prevention specialist with the Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands, cautioned that the fire continued to grow under drought conditions. Wickens noted the fire was human-caused and that an investigation is ongoing.
Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox made a visit to Eureka on Sunday. “We knew that there was going to be extreme fire danger, and sure enough we had multiple fires,” Cox said.
The Iron Fire was just one of six separate fires burning across Utah at various stages of containment.
Just across the border in Colorado, the southwestern corner of the state faced a red flag warning from the National Weather Service through Monday, driven by high winds and low humidity levels.
Near Sedona, Arizona, a wildfire broke out over the weekend and burned approximately 300 acres (120 hectares) of steep, rugged land near Oak Creek Canyon. The fire remained fully uncontained as of Sunday afternoon, and residents who had evacuated earlier were still not permitted to return to their homes.
A large stretch of the Western U.S., from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast, experienced above-average temperatures over the weekend, with even more intense heat expected to arrive early next week. Officials cautioned that the extended stretch of hot, dry, low-humidity weather was significantly raising fire danger across the region.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of Utah is currently experiencing severe to extreme drought conditions, while portions of Arizona and Colorado are also dealing with severe drought.
The dangerous heat has also proven deadly. Three hikers lost their lives in two separate incidents at the Grand Canyon last week due to extreme temperatures. Temperatures were forecast to keep climbing across the Southwest on Sunday, with Carlsbad, New Mexico expected to reach as high as 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 degrees Celsius).
On the other side of the country, a brush fire in Miami-Dade County, Florida tore through 2,000 acres (800 hectares) on Saturday.
