The Cottonwood Fire burning in Beaver County, Utah, has scorched more than 92,000 acres and remains at zero percent containment, making it the largest active wildfire in the United States and putting it on course to become the most destructive in the state's history. Fueled by record drought, wind gusts clocked at 45 miles per hour and humidity in the single digits, the fire grew explosively after igniting on Monday afternoon, repeatedly outpacing crews' efforts to corral it.
Governor Spencer Cox declared a temporary state of emergency and ordered fireworks restricted across Utah through July 5, ahead of Independence Day and the nation's 250th-anniversary celebrations. The order empowers state forester Jamie Barnes to restrict or prohibit fireworks displays in cities and towns rather than leaving those calls to individual communities — a centralization of authority meant to head off new ignitions during a high-risk holiday week.
Cox described the situation as 'bleak' even as he thanked firefighters for what he called 'several miraculous stops and saves' that have kept the blaze from destroying more property. The fire has already severely damaged the Eagle Point ski resort in Beaver County and at one point forced the complete closure of a highway through the mountainous terrain.
Evacuations have expanded as the fire spread. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for homes and campgrounds in Beaver County, and roughly 1,300 residents in the nearby communities of Marysvale, Junction and Circleville were placed on notice to prepare to leave at short notice. Power outages have accompanied the fire's advance across southern Utah.
The Cottonwood Fire is the most severe of a dozen wildfires burning simultaneously across Utah, which together have consumed more than 212,000 acres as of the weekend. It surpassed the Iron Fire in Juab County — about 28 miles southwest of Provo — which had burned more than 37,000 acres and reached 23 percent containment earlier in the week.
State officials have repeatedly emphasized that the fires are behaving in ways that defy expectations for this point in the year. 'Conditions that defy historical expectations' is how Barnes characterized the environment driving the blazes, with drought and heat combining to make fuels exceptionally volatile weeks before the traditional peak of fire season.
Forecasters had warned of a rare 'particularly dangerous situation' across the region in the days before the fire's worst growth, a designation reserved for the most extreme fire-weather conditions. With containment still at zero and hot, dry, windy weather expected to persist through the weekend, fire managers cautioned that the Cottonwood Fire could continue to grow before crews gain the upper hand.