Cottonwood Fire Spreads in Utah, Blackening 92,000 Acres and Forcing Closures

The Cottonwood Fire, described as the largest fire in the United States, erupted on Monday in the Fishlake national forest in central Utah and spread through deep canyons and over steep mountainsides, blackening an already parched landscape.

“growing from about 70,000 acres (28,000 hectares) to more than 92,000 acres (37,000 hectares) on Saturday morning”

The Guardian

The Guardian reported the fire spread overnight to cover 92,000 acres, after growing from about 70,000 acres to more than 92,000 acres on Saturday morning, with the blaze at a 0% containment level.

20 Minutes

The Guardian said the fire’s cause remains under investigation and that there have been no reported injuries or casualties, while the AP said residents in sparsely populated areas waited for word in case they had to evacuate.

The AP reported the Cottonwood Fire had already severely damaged the Eagle Point ski resort in Beaver County and forced campground closures in Fishlake National Forest, with other public lands closed as a precaution.

In Marysvale, Utah, the AP said the fire’s smoke prompted cautions about “unhealthy” air quality conditions as the blaze marched on.

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning in parts of Utah, and NPR said the warning was due to a volatile combination of high winds, temperatures and low humidities.

NPR quoted Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the fire, saying, "Our biggest challenge right now is that we have single digit humidities and the wind gusts are around 45 miles per hour," and it added that helicopters and other firefighting aircraft were grounded due to high winds.

ABC4 Utah

The U.S. Forest Service told residents that “Weather conditions are slightly better for fire behavior today, but extreme fire behavior may occur in the afternoon as temperatures and wind speeds increase,” according to PBS.

PBS also said the Cottonwood Fire ballooned Saturday to more than 144 square miles (373 square kilometers) and that no injuries or deaths had been reported by Jaclynn Swope, a spokesperson for the response team.

As the fire remained completely uncontained, NPR said incident managers temporarily "pull guys off the line" on Friday afternoon when combustible conditions combined with high winds.

As the Cottonwood Fire burned in a sparsely populated part of southern Utah, CBS News said it forced mandatory evacuations and severely damaged the Eagle Point ski resort in Beaver County, while the fire had burned over 92,000 acres and was at 0% containment.

“"Prepare now for rapid fire growth," it said”

CBS News

CBS News reported that roughly 1,300 residents in the towns of Marysvale, Junction and Circleville were put on notice to prepare to leave if conditions worsened, and it said smoke pushed to the east and northeast so air quality at Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks was not significantly affected beyond some haze in the Bryce area.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox restricted July 4 fireworks through July 5, and CBS News quoted him saying, "this year is different," after the National Weather Service issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” warning for five Utah counties including the area of the Cottonwood Fire.

The Associated Press said Cox asked for prayers for firefighters and “the rains we desperately need,” and it reported that Utah declared an emergency and restricted fireworks because the recent blazes were stretching the state’s wildland firefighting capabilities.

The Associated Press also said the cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, while state officials said the majority of those sparked so far this year have been human-caused, and it quoted State Forester Jamie Barnes saying, "One human-caused fire is one too many."