Utah Wildfires in 2026
Utah’s 2026 wildfire season has become the most destructive in the state’s modern history for woodland and forest loss, with more than 474,000 acres burned across all land cover types from 755 separate ignitions as of early August. Driven by record drought conditions, historically low mountain snowpack, and repeated bouts of dry lightning, the season has already produced multiple fires large enough to individually rank among the largest in Utah history, including one blaze state officials called potentially “the most destructive and costly fire” the state has ever seen in terms of property damage. While 2026 has not yet overtaken the total-acreage record set in 2007, it has already surpassed every prior year on record for the specific combination of forest and woodland acreage burned, according to University of Utah researchers.
The human and economic toll behind these numbers has been severe. Communities across Beaver, Piute, Millard, San Juan, and Juab counties have faced evacuation orders, and the season has already claimed the lives of three federal firefighters, injured two more, and destroyed well over 150 structures, including homes, cabins, and a major ski resort. With 75% of this year’s wildfires suspected to be human-caused, according to Utah’s governor, and several weeks still remaining in the traditional fire season, this article compiles the most current, verified statistics on acreage burned, individual fire behavior, evacuations, structural damage, and how 2026 compares with Utah’s prior worst fire years. Nearly every figure below reflects data collected while the season is still technically active, meaning several of these totals — particularly for fires still at or near zero percent containment — are likely to grow further before the year’s final tally is recorded.
Interesting Facts About Utah Wildfires in 2026
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Acres Burned, 2026 Season (as of early August) | 474,000+ acres |
| Total Fire Ignitions, 2026 Season | 755 |
| Record Woodland/Forest Acres Burned, 2026 | ~290,000 acres (new all-time record) |
| Previous Woodland/Forest Record (2018) | 235,585 acres |
| Utah’s All-Time Largest Wildfire | Milford Flat Fire, 2007 — 363,052 acres |
| 2007 Season Total (Still the Record) | ~650,000 acres, 1,385 fires |
| Firefighters Killed, 2026 Season | 3 (Snyder Fire, Utah-Colorado border) |
| Share of 2026 Fires Suspected Human-Caused | 75% |
| Structures Destroyed (Cottonwood Fire alone) | 150+ |
| 2025 Season Total Acreage (for comparison) | 164,874 acres |
Source: Utah Fire Info; University of Utah School of Environment, Society & Sustainability; Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands; Wikipedia (2026 Utah wildfires); KSL.com
The jump from 164,874 acres burned in all of 2025 to more than 474,000 acres just past the midpoint of the 2026 season illustrates how quickly conditions deteriorated this year — the state had already nearly tripled the previous year’s full-season total before autumn even arrived. Perhaps the more striking number, though, is the 290,000 acres of woodland and forest consumed in 2026, a figure that broke the prior record of 235,585 acres set in 2018 by a wide margin. Unlike the sprawling desert and rangeland fires that historically define Utah’s largest total-acreage years, 2026’s defining characteristic has been the volume of actual timbered and forested land lost, a distinction researchers say carries far greater long-term ecological and economic consequences than grass or sagebrush fires of similar size.
That distinction is also what separates 2026 from Utah’s benchmark disaster year, 2007, when the Milford Flat Fire alone burned 363,052 acres of largely open desert scrubland in a matter of days, contributing to a season total of roughly 650,000 acres that remains the state record. While 2026 has not surpassed 2007’s total acreage, University of Utah researchers emphasize that comparing the two years by acreage alone understates 2026’s severity, since a much higher proportion of this year’s burned land was forest rather than low-value rangeland — meaning 2026, despite trailing 2007 in raw acres, may ultimately prove more economically and ecologically costly per acre burned.
Major Individual Utah Wildfires in 2026
| Fire Name | County | Acres Burned | Containment | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon Fire | San Juan County | 107,189 | 95% | Under investigation |
| Cottonwood Fire | Beaver/Piute Counties | 97,464 | 90% | Human-caused (confirmed) |
| Widemouth 2 Fire | Millard County | 85,000+ | 0% (active as of early Aug) | Lightning |
| Snyder Fire | Utah-Colorado border | Crossed into Colorado | 98% | Under investigation |
| Wild Goose Fire | Fishlake National Forest | Tens of thousands of acres | Contained | Under investigation |
Source: Utah Fire Info; U.S. Forest Service — Fishlake and Manti-La Sal National Forests; Moab Sun News Wildfire Tracker; ABC News
The Babylon Fire in San Juan County stands as the largest single blaze of the 2026 season at 107,189 acres, but it was the Cottonwood Fire that state officials singled out as uniquely catastrophic. Utah State Forester Jamie Barnes described it while still burning as likely to become “the most destructive and costly fire in terms of property damage” the state had ever recorded, a designation tied directly to its impact on the Eagle Point Ski Resort, where the fire destroyed more than 100 condominiums and 30 cabins and damaged four of the resort’s five chairlifts. The Widemouth 2 Fire, meanwhile, remains one of the season’s most volatile threats — a lightning-caused blaze that surged past 84,000 acres in a single week during late July and early August while remaining at zero percent containment, underscoring how a single ignition can still dramatically reshape the season’s final numbers even this late in the year.
The Snyder Fire carries the heaviest human cost of any 2026 Utah blaze: it is the fire responsible for the deaths of three federal wildland firefighters, who were overrun while attempting to take shelter on June 27, with two additional firefighters hospitalized in the same incident. The fire subsequently crossed the state line into Colorado, drawing additional firefighting resources from both states before reaching 98% containment. Together, these five fires illustrate the range of ignition sources and containment challenges defining the season — from confirmed human causes at Cottonwood to still-unexplained ignitions at Babylon and Wild Goose, and from a fire nearly fully contained at 98% to one still burning entirely uncontrolled months into the season. Notably, the Cottonwood Fire briefly held the distinction of being the largest active wildfire in the entire nation for several consecutive days in late June, a title it lost only once the Babylon Fire in San Juan County accelerated past the 100,000-acre mark roughly two weeks later — a reminder of how quickly rankings among the nation’s largest fires can shift when several major Western blazes are burning simultaneously.
Utah Wildfire Evacuations and Structural Damage Statistics in 2026
| Metric | 2026 Data |
|---|---|
| Structures Destroyed, Cottonwood Fire | 150+ (100+ condos, 30+ cabins at Eagle Point Resort) |
| Estimated Structures Lost, Wild Goose Fire | ~150 (cabins, campground structures, primary homes) |
| Chairlifts Damaged, Eagle Point Resort | 4 of 5 |
| Communities Under Mandatory Evacuation (Cottonwood) | Eagle Point Resort, HiLo Estates, Merchant Valley, Arrowhead Summer Homes |
| Communities Evacuated (Juab County, Iron/Cherry Fires) | Eureka, Mammoth, Silver City |
| Red Cross Shelters Activated | Beaver Armory (Cottonwood Fire response) |
| Structures Lost, Babylon Fire Region | At least 5 (early reporting, Grand County area) |
Source: Cottonwood Fire (Utah, 2026) — Wikipedia; ABC News; CNN; Deseret News; KSL.com
The Cottonwood Fire’s destruction at Eagle Point Ski Resort represents one of the clearest single-location damage totals of the season — more than 150 structures, split between roughly 100 condominiums and 30 cabins, alongside significant harm to the resort’s lift infrastructure. Resort ownership has confirmed the property will remain closed for the foreseeable future given the scale of rebuilding required, and Beaver County residents displaced by the fire, including at least one family whose canyonside home was among the nearly 150 homes lost, have described the recovery effort as almost entirely dependent on private donations and volunteer labor rather than large-scale government reconstruction funding to date.
Evacuation patterns across the season reveal how quickly Utah’s fire response system had to mobilize across multiple, geographically distant counties simultaneously. In Beaver and Piute counties, mandatory evacuation orders expanded within hours as the Cottonwood Fire grew from roughly 750 acres to more than 10,000 acres in a single day, while more than 100 miles away in Juab County, residents of Eureka, Mammoth, and Silver City faced a separate evacuation order tied to the Iron and Cherry fires before being allowed to return home. This pattern of simultaneous, unrelated large-fire evacuations across different regions of the state is part of what prompted Utah’s unified wildfire response system, which brought firefighting crews from across the American West to supplement stretched local and state resources throughout the summer.
Utah Wildfire Causes and Fireworks Restriction Statistics in 2026
| Metric | 2026 Data |
|---|---|
| Share of 2026 Wildfires Suspected Human-Caused | 75% |
| Statewide Fireworks Restriction Announced | June 25, 2026 |
| Announcing Official | Governor Spencer Cox |
| Cottonwood Fire Cause | Confirmed human-caused |
| Widemouth 2 Fire Cause | Lightning |
| Days of Unhealthy Air Statewide (2007, for historical comparison) | 40 days |
Source: 2026 Utah Wildfires — Wikipedia; Utah Governor’s Office; KUTV
Governor Spencer Cox’s decision to impose a statewide fireworks restriction on June 25, 2026 came directly in response to state data showing 75% of that year’s wildfires were suspected to be human-caused, a proportion officials cited explicitly when announcing the restriction ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. That figure sits above the historical baseline for Utah, where human ignition sources — including fireworks, vehicle-related sparks, and unattended campfires — have long competed with lightning as the state’s dominant cause category, but rarely at a 3-to-1 ratio this early and this decisively in a single season.
The drought conditions underlying nearly every major 2026 fire trace back to a winter and spring that left Utah’s mountain snowpack well below historical norms, compounding years of below-average precipitation across the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau regions. For context on how this year’s severity compares to the state’s historical benchmark, heat-related mortality statistics shows the drought and extreme heat driving Utah’s fires were part of a broader national pattern, with record-breaking heat domes recorded simultaneously across much of the western and eastern United States throughout the summer.
Utah Wildfire Smoke, Air Quality, and Firefighter Casualty Statistics in 2026
| Metric | 2026 Data |
|---|---|
| Firefighters Killed (Snyder Fire) | 3 |
| Firefighters Hospitalized (Snyder Fire) | 2 |
| Fire Location at Time of Fatal Incident | Utah-Colorado border, Mesa County area |
| Pyrocumulonimbus Cloud Event | Babylon Fire — smoke plume broke into the stratosphere |
| States Reporting Poor Air Quality from Utah Smoke | Colorado, plus visibility impacts reported in Moab |
| National Forest Closure Duration (Fishlake NF) | Through December 31, 2026, unless rescinded |
Source: 2026 Utah Wildfires — Wikipedia; CNN; @theU (University of Utah)
The Babylon Fire’s smoke output reached a scale rarely documented in Utah wildfire history: atmospheric scientist Derek Mallia identified the resulting pyrocumulonimbus cloud — a fire-generated thunderstorm capable of injecting smoke directly into the stratosphere — as potentially the highest such cloud ever recorded above a Utah wildfire. These extreme fire-weather events don’t just threaten the immediate fire perimeter; they can loft smoke particles high enough to travel across state lines and affect air quality hundreds of miles away, which is precisely what happened as smoke from Utah’s fires degraded visibility and air quality across Colorado and the Moab region throughout the summer. For a broader look at how wildfire smoke translates into measurable public health costs beyond the fire line itself, the Wildfire Smoke Death Statistics in Canada report documents comparable smoke-driven health and economic impacts from the same 2026 North American fire season.
The deaths of three federal wildland firefighters on the Snyder Fire on June 27 remain the season’s gravest human toll, occurring when the fire suddenly overran the crew’s position as they attempted to take emergency shelter. That incident, combined with the fire’s subsequent spread across the Utah-Colorado state line, forced an unusually large multi-state resource commitment even as Utah’s own fire agencies were simultaneously managing the Cottonwood, Babylon, and Widemouth 2 fires elsewhere in the state. The extended closure of large sections of the Fishlake National Forest — in place through the end of 2026 unless conditions improve enough to rescind it early — reflects how long recovery and safety assessments are expected to take even after individual fire perimeters reach full containment.
Utah Wildfire Public Land Closures and Recreation Impact Statistics in 2026
| Metric | 2026 Data |
|---|---|
| State Route Closed (Cottonwood Fire) | SR-153 |
| National Park Partially Closed | Canyonlands National Park (Babylon Fire emergency closure) |
| National Forests Under Emergency Closure | Fishlake National Forest, Manti-La Sal National Forest |
| Eagle Point Resort Operational Status | Closed indefinitely |
| Highway Closed (Wild Goose/Babylon Region) | U.S. Highway 50 (temporary) |
Source: 2026 Utah Wildfires — Wikipedia; CNN; Gephardt Daily
The closure of a portion of Canyonlands National Park alongside the emergency closure of the Manti-La Sal National Forest during the Babylon Fire’s peak spread illustrates how far this season’s disruption extended beyond the immediate fire perimeters and into Utah’s core outdoor recreation economy. Southern and central Utah’s national parks and forests draw millions of visitors annually, and even temporary closures during peak summer travel season carry real economic consequences for gateway communities that depend heavily on tourism spending. For readers tracking how free public lands typically drive visitor spending in a normal year, the Free National Parks Statistics in the US report offers useful context on just how significant that recreation-driven economic activity usually is — activity that Utah’s fire-affected communities have had to forgo, at least temporarily, during 2026’s historic fire season.
Road closures compounded the disruption, with State Route 153 shut down entirely during the height of the Cottonwood Fire and a stretch of U.S. Highway 50 temporarily closed as the Wild Goose Fire threatened areas near Scipio in Millard County. These closures, layered on top of the ski resort destruction at Eagle Point and the extended national forest closure through the end of the year, mean the practical footprint of Utah’s 2026 fire season — measured in disrupted travel, canceled trips, and lost recreation revenue — extends well beyond the raw acreage figures that typically headline fire season reporting.
Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.
