'Too soon to tell' is the word from Utah wildfire managers

SALT LAKE CITY — There sure is a lot of green in Utah’s mountains this time of year.

It’s a color wildfire managers know will eventually change.

"It really just kind of depends on weather,” said Jason Curry, the spokesman for Utah’s Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands. “As it gets hotter, the green-up will cure and turn brown.”

Curry and others involved with wildfire planning say it’s still too early to know for sure what kind of wildfire season Utah will have.

The past two summers have been relatively quiet.

“It means we're lucky. The last two years have been a lot more mild in terms of fire activity,” said Curry.

2013 was a tough year for fighting wildfires.

Several homes in Rockport burned after a fire ripped through the dry grass.

This year, Utah has a decent snowpack and rain keeping vegetation green.

"We're seeing about normal conditions for this time of year. Normal snowpack, normal river levels, and a lot of green-up is starting there, too, with cheat grass and things like that,” said David Eaker, a spokesman with Zion National Park in southern Utah. “It all really basically boils down to ignitions. Is there going to be lightning? Or are people going to be careless with fire?"

Already, some fire managers say they’ve seen a few small fires ignite because of carelessness.

"We are starting to pick up a few ignitions. We've had a handful of roadside fires and one fire up in the La Sal mountain range,” said Chris Asbjorn, a fire mitigation specialist with the Bureau of Land Management in Moab.

"It's the time of year where we're getting ready for the season. Hopefully, it won't be that big of a season and we won't have that much work, but you never know,” said Eaker.

That’s truly the thing about wildfires.

You never know.

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