- Utah wildfires have burned over 180,000 acres, marking 2026 as a busy year.
- The Cottonwood Fire remains at 0% containment, burning 92,254 acres so far.
- The Iron and Cherry fires have burned 40,881 and 30,766 acres, respectively.
SALT LAKE CITY — More than 180,000 acres have already burned from fires this year, state and federal firefighters reported early Saturday. That officially makes 2026 the busiest wildfire year since 2020, surpassing last year's total in half the time.
Three of the largest wildfires, the Cottonwood Fire, the Iron Fire and the Cherry Fire, continue to burn across the state.
The Cottonwood Fire reached 92,254 acres by Saturday, burning more than 144 square miles of terrain, according to Utah Fire Info. It says the blaze is still at 0% containment after extreme fire conditions forced crews to disengage and scout new areas to tackle the flames.
The Iron Fire has reached 38% containment, but Utah Fire Info said the fire had burned 40,881 acres of terrain by Saturday morning. The nearly 64-square-mile fire did not make any significant perimeter movements; instead, it mainly burned fuel still within the existing perimeter.
The Cherry Fire, which was reported at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Friday, grew rapidly under extreme fire weather to an estimated 30,766 acres. Utah Fire Info said the approximately 48-square-mile blaze was reported 6 miles southwest of Highway 36. It was combined with the Maple Fire on Friday evening.
More than 1,500 fires scorched nearly 330,000 acres statewide in 2020. Utah's worst fire year on record, in terms of land lost, remains 2007, when over 620,000 acres were burned.
Two new blazes were reported Saturday morning near the Colorado border. According to the Moab Valley Fire Department, the Snyder Mesa Fire at 50 acres and the Jones Canyon Fire at 20 acres are just south of the Colorado River and spreading towards Colorado.
The Wild Goose Fire, which was discovered Friday, grew to an estimated 8,954 acres Saturday afternoon, according to Utah Fire Info. It said the blaze is approximately 1.7 miles from the Sanpete Co. line, and Highway 50 remains closed between Scipio and Aurora.
Contributing: Carter Williams
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