Before planning trips, check on the Fires in Utah!

Before planning trips in Utah check the fire conditions before planning camping, camp fires, and deciding to take roads that are closed due to fires.

Go to wfca.com and move the map to Utah.

Fire risk is currently extreme in most places so please be careful if camping. Humidity is currently extremely low, winds are blowing, and temperatures are high as is normal.

We have wonderful National and State Parks that are amazing to see, but please be ultra careful with campfires etc.

Note, as of yesterday it seems consumer fireworks are banned for the 4th of July because of the fire risk being so extreme.

This risk also applies to parts of CA, CO, AZ, NV, and WY too.

Please don’t hesitate to visit, but please be careful and exercise extreme caution.

2dogs said:

Most of the fires are due to carelessness and or power companies' lack of proper maintenance. Slow response time is also a contributing factor, but we are making progress on that one.

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There seems to be a variety of reasons for wildfires in Utah.

One leading man-made cause appears to be campfires in authorized or unauthorized camping locations, or off road vehicles at this time of year. Of course, visitors to the State may be as unaware as locals about the fire risk whilst camping. Apparently cigarettes and arson are much rarer than we think.

Other main causes depends upon the season. Farm equipment in the Spring, hunting camps in the Fall for example.

The leading natural cause is dry lightning. Dry lightning is the most dangerous as it ignites at multiple locations across a wider area than man made fires, accidental or otherwise.

Apparently between 5% and 10% of wildfires are caused by electrical problems, but that includes transformer failures and other related electrical issues, not just power lines and vegetation interaction. This obviously depends upon the location in the State.

The use of satellite imagery to detect potential heat sources has enable faster fire detection through several satellite services the State is subscribed to.

Like you say, early detection has gotten better over the years.