- New fire restrictions are to be imposed on Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Ashley national forests starting Friday.
- Stage 1 restrictions affect U.S. National Forest land across northern Utah.
- Worsening drought and recent wildfires appear to have prompted restrictions.
SALT LAKE CITY — New fire restrictions are being implemented at Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Ashley national forests, leaving some level of restrictions in place across nearly all public lands in Utah as the state's drought worsens.
Stage 1 fire restrictions will begin Friday across U.S. Forest Service land from the Utah-Idaho border to Nephi, and into northeast Utah and even a sliver of Wyoming, including the Wasatch Mountains and High Uinta Wilderness. Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest supervisor Kelly Orr signed one of the orders Thursday, a day after Ashley National Forest supervisor Kristy Groves ordered the other.
Stage 1 fire restrictions
- Igniting, building, maintaining, attending or using a fire is prohibited unless it's located within a permanent metal or concrete fire pit or grate that the U.S. Forest Service has installed and maintained at its developed recreation sites, or is in a device fueled by liquid or gas that can be turned on and off, or is within a fully enclosed metal stove within an approved mesh screen spark arrestor.
- Smoking is only permitted in an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least 3 feet in diameter away from vegetation or other flammable materials.
- Welding, operating acetylene or any torch with open flame is prohibited, except if in a cleared area of at least 10 feet in diameter. An approved chemical pressurized fire extinguisher must also be kept with the operator.
- The use of any explosives is also prohibited.
The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest order will remain in place through Oct. 9, while the Ashley National Forest order will run through the end of Oct. 31. Neither order explains why the orders are issued now, but it comes as the drought conditions worsen in the state and a pair of high-profile new wildfires within the national forests this week.
Campers were evacuated because of a fast-growing fire that started in the High Uintas Wilderness east of Mirror Lake Highway on Thursday. The fire broke out three days after crews were able to contain a new start near Tibble Fork Reservoir at less than an acre.
While northern Utah received an average snowpack this winter, mostly dry conditions have persisted since spring. The National Weather Service's Salt Lake City site last received measurable rain on July 4. It's in the middle of the second rainless stretch that lasted over 30 days since May. Another lasted from May 18 to June 22.
That's representative of many other parts of the region, including the Wasatch and Uinta mountains.
"That's certainly no different up here," said Derek Siddoway, a spokesman for Summit County, as he responded to the Beulah Fire in the High Uintas Thursday. "The elevation is a little bit higher, fuel moistures may be a little bit higher here, but it's dry. It hasn't rained much (and) it's been hot."
Nearly 10% of the state is now in extreme drought, primarily in the Uinta Mountains, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported on Thursday. The rest of the state is in a mix of severe or moderate drought, with some of the severe drought covering parts of the national forests that issued the Stage 1 restrictions.
Stage 2 fire restrictions remain in place on all other Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and state land in Utah. Those were announced about the same time Gov. Spencer Cox declared a state of emergency over the state's escalating wildfire situation on July 31.
The governor also stressed the importance of using caution while recreating on public lands as he visited the Monroe Canyon Fire in central Utah last week.
"I'm begging people to please use extreme caution," he said at the time. "One spark and we can have another fire just like this, and that means shrinking resources."
Contributing: Daniel Woodruff
