U.S. wildfires force evacuations in Utah, Arizona

Several wildfires burned across the western United States over the weekend, fueled by extreme heat, drought, and windy conditions. The largest fire, the Iron Fire in central Utah, spanned nearly 22,000 acres and forced the small central Utah town of Eureka to evacuate until Monday, according to officials. The fire burned around 70 miles from Salt Lake City, where residents were warned to be ready to evacuate on a moment’s notice.

The Iron Fire was human-caused and started early Saturday, according to Utah Fire Info. Firefighters had not made any progress containing the blaze as of Monday morning as shifting winds and dry vegetation continued to fuel the fire.

A half dozen fires burned across the state Monday morning at varying levels of containment. The Bonneville Fire, of which 5% of its nearly 500 acres had been contained, was expected to pick up more activity Monday due to hot, dry temperatures. Gov. Spencer Cox urged Utah residents to use extreme caution as conditions remained dry and dangerous statewide.

Where else have wildfires erupted?

• Residents close to Sedona, Ariz., evacuated over the weekend as more than 300 firefighters battled a nearly 300-acre blaze.

• Two fires in Nevada covered a combined 27,000 acres, the Bureau of Land Management Nevada said Sunday. One of the fires was 20% contained, while the other hadn’t been contained at all.

• The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning for the southwest corner of Colorado. The warning signaled that fires were highly likely to occur due to strong winds and low relative humidity.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Black’s report on a wildfire that caused tens of thousands to evacuate Los Angeles in May.