SALT LAKE CITY — New fire restrictions have been implemented on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Ashley national forests, placing some level of restriction on nearly all public lands in Utah as the state’s drought worsens.
The Stage 1 fire restrictions, effective Aug. 8, prohibit most open flames outside of designated fire pits, restrict smoking to cleared areas or enclosed vehicles, and bans welding or other torch use. The orders cover a wide area from the Utah-Idaho border to Nephi, and into northeast Utah.
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest supervisor Kelly Orr signed one of the orders Thursday, a day after Ashley National Forest supervisor Kristy Groves ordered the other. The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest order will remain in place through Oct. 9, while the Ashley National Forest order will run through the end of Oct. 31.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reported this week that nearly 10% of the state, primarily in the Uinta Mountains, is now in “extreme drought.” Stage 2 fire restrictions are already in place on other unincorporated, Bureau of Land Management, and state lands across Utah.
The order was issued as firefighters are battling several wildfires. The Perry Fire started Thursday evening and has burned about 10 acres south of Mantua Reservoir. The Beulah Fire has burned approximately 1,400 acres in the Uinta Mountains, near the Mirror Lake Highway.