SALT LAKE CITY — The upcoming week’s fire weather forecast is predicting continued hot and dry conditions as well as a significant increase in lightning activity across Utah.
Lightning storms on sparked three wildfires across the Arizona Strip, St. George, Utah, July 14, 2024 | Photo by Ron Chaffin, St. George News
Given the recent weather predictions, as reported by St. George News, the primary wildland fire management agencies issued a press release about balancing the need for firefighting resources within Utah with the ongoing needs of our neighboring states experiencing significant fire activity.
Utah State Forester Jamie Barnes, Bureau of Land Management State Director Greg Sheehan and United States Department Agriculture Forest Service Intermountain Regional Forester Mary Farnsworth, along with agency fire directors, are directly engaged in critical resource allocation strategies to maintain adequate firefighters and suppress fires that may impact local communities.
“Utah has been experiencing hot and dry conditions this summer,” Brett Ostler, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands Fire Management Officer, said in the media release. “These conditions have increased the fire risk in the state, and we feel it is necessary to prioritize our resources to protect communities within Utah.”
Predictive services staff, with the Great Basin Coordination Center, have forecasted the potential for storm systems to impact Utah over the weekend. Officials said that with these storms comes an increased chance for dry lightning, increasing the fire danger in the state.
The coordination center has issued a fuel and fire behavior advisory due to the conditions within the state that support very active to extreme fire behavior. The advisory states that the following conditions are being or will be experienced and/or observed:
Above normal fine fuel loading and continuity across northwest Utah.
Critical live fuel moisture values with grass and brush-type fuels available for ignition.
Live and dead fuel moisture above the 90th-95th percentile.
100 and 1000-hr time lag fuels are at historical lows and seeing complete consumption.
Extended weather forecasts call for a return of hot and dry conditions to much of Utah.
The scene at the lightning caused Silver King wildfire burning near Marysvale, Utah, July 7, 2024 | Photo courtesy of Marty Martak, St. George News
This increase in fire behavior raises concerns for firefighters and public safety. It is anticipated that fuels such as sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, gamble oak and mixed conifer can ignite easily and exhibit advanced rates of spread, fire officials warned.
“This year, Utah has seen large fires started by lightning,” the media release stated. “Most notable is the Silver King Fire, which has burned over 18,000 acres and was started at the beginning of July.”
On Friday, officials at the Silver King Fire, approximately 3 miles west of Marysvale, reported that the fire would continue to burn while not presenting a threat to the public.
“Because the fire is confined and not declared out, there will still be a considerable amount of smoke throughout the summer until cooler, wetter weather arrives,” the media update on Aug. 2 stated. “However, the threat of the fire escaping its current footprint has been reduced to the lowest level possible with the contain/confine strategy.”
Originally caused by a lightning strike on July 5, the Silver King Fire has consumed 18,222 acres, as of the last report. Officials are warning residents, for their own safety, to observe all forest closure notices and watch for fire personnel, vehicles and heavy machinery in the vicinity throughout the summer.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.