2023 Utah wildfires

A series of wildfires burned throughout the U.S. state of Utah during 2023.

Background

While the typical wildfire season in Utah varies, most fires occur in between July and October. Fire conditions can heavily depend on monsoons that last from late June to September. Dry monsoons can allow fires to start and spread easier, while wet ones can cause fire relief. Additionally, hot temperatures and overall dry conditions play a large role.

Summary

Concerns for a destructive fire season began after Utah's snowpack reached and began melting in spring. However, the start of fire season was late due to high fuel moistures from the snowpack. The El Niño prolonged cool, moist conditions from May through early July. Hot and dry conditions minimally increased fire activity in late July and early August, but was still well below average. Precipitation increased later in August, coming when most vegetation began drying up. Additionally, the temperature that season was the lowest in Utah since 2014, 1.5 °F above the 20th century average. Heavy rains in September effectively brought an end to fire season.

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than, or produced significant structural damage or casualties.

Name	County	Acres	Start date	Containment Date	Notes	Ref
I70 MM 270	Grand	1,802	10 7 2023	2023	Caused by a rollover crash on Interstate 70. Burned near the Utah/Colorado border and closed Interstate 70. Was 89% contained on July 11.
Rocky	Tooele	1,300	21 7 2023	22 7 2023	Unknown cause. Burned near Ibapah.
Thompson Ridge	Beaver	7,253	4 8 2023	7 9 2023	Lightning-caused. Burned southeast of Beaver.
Light House Canyon	Emery	2,037	16 8 2023	2023	Lightning-caused. Burned southeast of East Carbon. Was 85% contained on November 6.
Box	Sevier	2,038	19 9 2023	2023	Lightning-caused. Burned northwest of Emery. Due to low fire risk from heavy precipitation and the lateness into the season, firefighters allowed to burn for ecosystem restoration.