As of Sept. 6, there have been 675 total wildfires in Utah, burning more than 13,900 acres so far this year. Nearly 40% were human-caused. Three hundred and eight of those fires were determined to be caused by lightning. In 2022, at this time, there were 854 fires, down from the 1,024 fires during the same period in 2021.
Of course, last winter set all-time snow depth and water content records, and we had an unusually wet April/May/June period, followed by a moderate-temp summer with more cloud cover and occasional light rain than normal (August rainfall was ~3x normal as well).
I worry about next year, when all this vegetation that grew longer and higher than normal, and was not burned down, adds another spring's growth - what will our weather be next year?
For contrast: Of the 1,547 fires in Utah during 2020, 1,202 (78%) were human-caused, surpassing 2015's record of 937.
These fires accounted for nearly 100,000 of the 329,732 total acres burned during this season.
Yes... 14,000 acres by Sept 6 this year, just under 330,000 acres 3 years ago!