Utah wildfire forces evacuation of small town as extreme heat roasts US west

Extreme heat and dry, windy conditions are fueling multiple wildfires across the US west, including a massive blaze in Utah that forced the evacuation of a small town, with hot weather in the forecast raising the risk of more blazes in the week ahead.The Iron fire in Utah’s Juab county was first detected on Saturday and has so far blackened more than 2,000 acres. The fire, about 70 miles (113km) south-west of Salt Lake City, forced the evacuation of Eureka, population 1,000, and people at a nearby ranch.No homes had been lost, and Utah-fire-info" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="150216" data-entity-type="organization">Utah Fire Info, a multi-agency operation, said in a post on X that firefighters conducted a successful operation to protect the town.Kelly Wickens, a fire prevention specialist with the Utah division of forestry fire and state lands, warned that the fire was continuing to grow amid drought conditions. Wickens said the fire was human-caused and remains under investigation.Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, visited the town on Sunday. “We knew that there was going to be extreme fire danger, and sure enough we had multiple fires,” Cox said.The Iron fire was one of six fires burning in Utah at varying levels of containment.In neighboring Colorado, the south-west corner of the state was under a red-flag warning issued by the National Weather Service until Monday, due to gusty winds and low relative humidity.The Iron fire burns outside near Eureka. Photograph: Kelly Wickens/Utah forestry fire state lands/APA wildfire prompted evacuations over the weekend near Sedona, Arizona, burning about 300 acres (120 hectares) of steep and rugged terrain near Oak Creek Canyon. As of Sunday afternoon, the fire remained uncontained. Residents evacuated earlier were still not being allowed to return home.The wildfires come as warm weather blankets portions of the American south-west, with more extreme heat on the way.Much of the western US from the Rockies to the Pacific coast saw above-average temperatures this weekend with even hotter weather anticipated for early next week. Parts of southern California were under an extreme heat advisory in the days ahead, the Los Angeles Times reported.Officials, meanwhile, also warned that the prolonged dry, hot weather and relatively low humidity increased the risk of fire danger.Much of Utah is experiencing severe to extreme drought, while parts of Arizona and Colorado are experiencing severe drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.Extreme heat claimed the lives of three hikers in two separate incidents last week in the Grand Canyon. Temperatures were expected to climb in the south-west on Sunday, with a forecast of up to 108F (42.2C) in Carlsbad, New Mexico.Meanwhile, a brush fire in Miami-Dade county in Florida spread across 2,000 acres (800 hectares) on Saturday.The Associated Press contributed reporting