A fire burns in Sand Hollow State Park after a man abandoned a burning ATV on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Credit: Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue)
A number of new fires started over the weekend in already smokey Utah, bringing the summer’s total to 717 blazes, the majority of them human-caused.
On Friday, the Little Cottonwood Fire was reported along John’s Valley Road in Garfield County, burning about 20 acres on state-owned land before it was suppressed. Officials say it was human-caused, possibly from roadside sparks, dragging chains or other vehicle maintenance issues.
On Saturday, a glider crashed into Mahogany Mountain in Mountain Green, located in Morgan County, killing the pilot and sparking a fire at 7,000 feet, according to the Mountain Green Fire Protection District. After working until about 1:30 a.m., crews were able to hold the fire to about 3 acres.
That same day, a 32-year-old man was arrested for abandoning a fire, a class A misdemeanor, and driving under the influence, a class B misdemeanor, after police say he abandoned an ATV that had caught fire at Sand Hollow State Park, according to an affidavit filed by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The incident resulted in a 3.5-acre fire.
On Sunday, a grass fire in Tremonton nearly took out several structures before the Garland and Tremonton fire departments were able to contain it. The 2-acre fire was sparked by someone welding in dry grass.
On Monday, officials worked to evacuate American Fork Canyon in Utah County following a fire that had grown to about a quarter-acre. Tibble Fork Reservoir, the nearby campgrounds and summer home areas had all been evacuated Monday. The fire was reported at about 7 a.m., and the cause is under investigation.
All that comes as the state is dealing with several large fires and a red flag warning that conditions could worsen as the week goes on. The red flag warning — issued during periods of hot, dry and windy weather — remains in effect until Wednesday for most of Utah, excluding the eastern part of the state along the Colorado border, and parts of Tooele and Box Elder counties.
Utah has seen at least 717 fires this year, 495 of them caused by humans. At least 135 fires were determined to be natural, and the remaining 87 are unknown or still under investigation. A total of 140,416 acres have burned.
Utah’s largest fire this year is the Monroe Canyon Fire, burning at 62,700 acres in between Interstate 70 and state Route 24 in the Richfield area. More than 1,500 firefighters are working around the clock to control the fire, which as of Monday is only 13% contained. At least seven structures have been destroyed.
“This is a big one. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a big one like this. The odds of us putting it out anytime soon are pretty low, just to be honest. We know that the forecast is not great right now,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Friday.
Over the weekend, crews made progress fighting the Little Pole Fire in Box Elder County, which is now 90% and 461 acres. The Deer Creek Fire, which is estimated at 17,724 acres along the Utah-Colorado border in the La Sal Mountains near Moab, is also now 95% contained.
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