There have been several fires in the state of Utah that have had fire departments throughout the state scrambling their units in order to fight the multiple blazes. These fires have mainly been in areas such as Richfield, Cedar City, and Monroe.

These fires have destroyed over 300 structures, the most in the past 15 years.  According to Fox13.com in an article written about the fires, “Structures lost to Utah wildfires in the last five years combined would not reach a third of the devastation seen in this single year, according to data from the National Interagency Coordination Center.”

Beyond the physical damage of housing and environment, the smoke in the air from the fires can have a harmful effect on people with medical conditions like asthma

Several areas have been evacuated as a result of the fires and it just goes to show how dangerous these occurrences can be.

Fires can spread incredibly quickly, especially if there is a strong, hot wind. There are currently eight fires active in the state of Utah, most of them have been started by lightning strikes but with others, their causes are unknown or as yet undocumented. The fires have burned several thousand acres of land. Most of them are well contained but others are a little more difficult to contain.

According to the reporters of Fox 13 News, “Utah firefighters are gearing up for a busy wildfire season, but their ability to battle fires is in jeopardy.  Local fire departments don’t have enough volunteer firefighters and worry there’s no easy solution.”

“[Lack of firefighters]a big concern not just in Utah, but all over the country,” said David Owens, assistant director of training, Utah Fire & Rescue Academy.

“Most of Utah is staffed by volunteer firefighters. Without that they don’t have a fire department,” said David Owens, assistant director of training, Utah Fire & Rescue Academy.There is a large need for more volunteer firefighters. Most of the volunteer firefighters that we have are currently in California helping to battle the blazes. “It’s a big concern not just in Utah, but all over the country,” said  Owens.

We as the public can prevent fires like this happening again by making 100% sure our campfires are put out correctly and refraining from discarding cigarettes that are still burning in forested areas. These are two big things that we can do to help prevent fires from breaking out like this.