Utah’s Cottonwood Fire Burns Bigger Than Salt Lake City With 45 MPH Winds and Zero Containment

Utah’s Cottonwood Fire Remains Completely Uncontained as Record-Low Snowpack, Single-Digit Humidity, and 45 MPH Winds Create Historic Fire Conditions Across the Southwest

Utah’s Cottonwood Fire Burns Bigger Than Salt Lake City With 45 MPH Winds and Zero Containment. Utah’s Cottonwood Fire Remains Completely Uncontained as Record-Low Snowpack, Single-Digit Humidity, and 45 MPH Winds Create Historic Fire Conditions Across the Southwest.

NPR reports that the Cottonwood Fire in southern Utah; the largest wildfire currently burning in the United States, remains completely uncontained, driven by wind gusts of 45 miles per hour, single-digit humidity levels, and fuel moistures as low as 2%, conditions that forced firefighters off the line and grounded helicopters entirely on Friday afternoon.

The National Weather Service Issued a Historically Rare “Particularly Dangerous Situation” Red Flag Warning for Utah, The First in Its Salt Lake City Office’s History

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning for parts of Utah on Friday, the first time in the office’s history. The fire has burned an area larger than Salt Lake City. Utah’s snowpack peaked three weeks earlier than normal and hit its lowest level on record, according to the state’s division of water resources, leaving the region bone-dry heading into summer.

Forest Fires Now Burn Ten Times More Acreage Annually Than in 1985 as Utah Governor Bans Fireworks Through the Fourth of July Holiday

Utah Governor Spencer Cox issued an emergency order banning firework displays through the Fourth of July due to the crisis. A study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that forest fires now burn ten times more acreage annually than in 1985, with high-severity fires burning thirty times more area than 40 years ago.

When the driest winter on record meets the hottest summer on record, this is what happens. And the season has barely started. Check out our previous coverage of climate and environmental news here.