{"id":4239,"date":"2026-06-27T08:33:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T08:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4239"},"modified":"2026-06-27T08:33:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T08:33:51","slug":"dangerous-weather-hampers-firefighters-and-leads-to-fireworks-bans-in-western-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4239","title":{"rendered":"Dangerous weather hampers firefighters and leads to fireworks bans in western US"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Hot, dry and windy conditions are fueling a fast-moving wildfire in Utah, forcing the governor to declare an emergency and restrict fireworks as critical weather across the West gives way to mounting concerns that anything could cause a spark. <\/p>\n

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Firefighters are facing more challenges on the ground from what fire managers and experts call unprecedented conditions. <\/p>\n

Air tankers and helicopters were grounded Friday as winds picked up on the Cottonwood Fire, the largest blaze currently burning in the U.S. Gusts were clocked at 45 miles per hour (72 km\/h) and humidity levels were in the single digits, leaving crews with few options for slowing the flames, especially as they raced through the treetops.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not expecting the weather to be kind to us for the next couple of days,\u201d said Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the fire. \u201cWe are seeing extreme fire behavior out there with some crown runs and definitely some spotting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burning in a sparsely populated area of southern Utah, the Cottonwood Fire ballooned Friday to more than 112 square miles (290 square kilometers). One of several large wildfires burning in Utah, it severely damaged the Eagle Point ski resort in Beaver County and forced evacuations. In the community of Marysvale, the smoke blocked out the sun Friday as ash rained down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at a full 48 hours of critical weather that we have not seen in Utah in the last five years,\u201d meteorologist Jason Straub told a community meeting in Beaver County Friday evening.<\/p>\n

A cold front on Sunday will bring winds that could push the fire in new directions before the weather starts stabilizing next week, he said.<\/p>\n

The smoke pushed mostly east, meaning air quality at popular vacation spots like Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks \u2014 located far south of the flames \u2014 hasn\u2019t been significantly affected beyond some haze in the Bryce area. <\/p>\n

Still, the plume was visible from miles away, even as far as Colorado.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like nothing seen in recent memory, Utah state forester Jamie Barnes said earlier this week. She acknowledged that fires are spreading farther and faster \u201cunder conditions that defy historical expectations.\u201d <\/p>\n

Nationally, nearly 3 million acres have burned since the start of the year, pushing the U.S. ahead of the 10-year average. The National Interagency Fire Center said firefighters are making progress on containing fires from Alaska to Florida. <\/p>\n

Red flag warnings cover the West<\/h3>\n

Conditions including low humidity and strong winds have triggered red flag warnings across a wide swatch stretching from Idaho to southern Arizona and New Mexico. Some of the forecasts predicted winds of 25 to 35 miles an hour (40 km\/h to 56 km\/h), with the worst conditions expected from northern Arizona into central and southern Utah.<\/p>\n

At Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, officials were preparing for a power outage on Saturday. The utility that serves the area had warned that it would likely initiate a safety outage in hopes of lessening the risk of wildfire in the area.<\/p>\n

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Visitors will be able to purchase park passes at entrance stations as long as backup power systems remain operational, but park officials said visitors should come prepared. That means downloading maps and other important information before arriving and ensuring that phones and other electronic devices are fully charged.<\/p>\n

Power shutoffs have become more common in the West as wildfire risk has expanded. It\u2019s usually a last resort after utility forecasters weigh factors like sustained wind and gust speeds, available fuels and topography.<\/p>\n

With extreme fire conditions persisting, Rocky Mountain Power has issued a public safety power shutoff watch\/warning for areas of central, southern and eastern Utah through the weekend. <\/p>\n

As long as it\u2019s hot and dry, the risk will be high<\/h3>\n

Tim Brown, a research professor and director of the Western Regional Climate Center, said the potential for extreme fire behavior will remain as long as it\u2019s hot, dry and windy. He pointed to parts of the West that have been mired by persistent drought, including Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would not be surprised to see a lot of restrictions come out as we get closer to the July Fourth weekend,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople really need to be aware of their surroundings if they\u2019re going to be out in the forested campground areas and grassland areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Spencer Cox set the temporary fireworks restrictions through July 5 as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, saying \u201cthis year is different.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Cottonwood Fire\u2019s cause was unknown, the governor\u2019s order noted that humans have been the cause of most fires in the state so far this year.<\/p>\n

Even in Florida, where there have been multiple brush fires, authorities are urging people to skip the personal fireworks and instead leave the pyrotechnics to professionals putting on carefully planned shows.<\/p>\n

Back fire camp, Mason talked about Utah\u2019s snowpack and steam flows peaking early in March, resulting in what she called extreme dryness. Then came the wind storms like never seen before, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything happens out there, any kind of spark hits fuels,\u201d she said, \u201cit is more than likely going to start a fire and more than likely going get pretty big pretty quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hot, dry and windy conditions are fueling a fast-moving wildfire in Utah, forcing the governor…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDangerous weather hampers firefighters and leads to fireworks bans in western US - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4239\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dangerous weather hampers firefighters and leads to fireworks bans in western US - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hot, dry and windy conditions are fueling a fast-moving wildfire in Utah, forcing the governor...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4239\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-27T08:33:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4239#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4239\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"Dangerous weather hampers firefighters and leads to fireworks bans in western US\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T08:33:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4239\"},\"wordCount\":934,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4239#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d1b253dbee70947449a0c5c1015441e7.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4239#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4239\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4239\",\"name\":\"Dangerous weather hampers firefighters and leads to fireworks bans in western US - 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