The National Weather Service on Friday evening issued its first-ever Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning for its Salt Lake City forecast office, citing rare and extreme fire danger across southern and central Utah as the Cottonwood Fire continued to burn out of control.
“This is the first formal PDS Red Flag Warning we’ve issued since it was formalized by NWS,” the agency said in a post on X. The warning applies to fire weather zones 478, 479, 482, 484, 488, 489, 492, and 497, covering areas including Marysvale, Junction, and parts of Piute, Garfield, Beaver, Iron, and Washington counties. It is in effect through midnight Saturday.
“This is the first time we’ve reached the Weather Risk Outlook level of ‘Extreme,’” NWS said of a designation it has not used in a notification since 2021. “In short, this combination of high winds, low humidity, very dry fuels and a large fire is a rare and dangerous situation!”
Forecasters predicted wind gusts of at least 50 mph and humidity levels below 10% through the period, conditions that could drive rapid growth of the Cottonwood Fire, which has burned nearly 72,000 acres since it ignited Monday near Beaver, about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Utah this year experienced its lowest-ever snowpack and a heatwave that began in March, leaving vegetation critically dry. As MSI previously reported, Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday declared a state of emergency and ordered a temporary statewide ban on personal fireworks through July 5 — suspending a 2024 state law that had prevented the state forester from imposing such restrictions — as wildfires burn across more than 143,000 acres.
Utah meteorologist Jason Stroud told The Washington Post that the warning, which has been in effect for several days, reflects a danger that could be devastating and potentially life-threatening.
“This shows that the combination of weather effects that are coming in the next 48 hours are extremely concerning,” Stroud said, reiterating that the Salt Lake City NWS office had never issued this type of warning.