Dry, windy conditions fuel explosive wildfire growth across western US

Dry, windy conditions fuel explosive wildfire growth across western US 0 seconds of 1 minute, 7 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 01:07 01:07 More Videos 01:01 World's largest kite festival fills Danish skies with 25,000 kites 01:02 Iconic mountain rescue dogs keep history alive as museum celebrates first birthday 01:10 Dutch fans flood Kansas City with orange as the ‘Oranjebus’ makes its way downtown 01:28 Democrats pledge to continue pressing Trump and GOP on Iran war and affordability 01:58 Vermont becomes the first state to ban paraquat, a weedkiller widely used in US agriculture 01:40 Jubilation in the diaspora as Cape Verde scores 1st World Cup goal and holds Uruguay to 2-2 draw 02:00 Touring Trump's Washington: How the president is putting his imprint on the nation's capital 00:59 AP Top Stories June 22 Close 1 of 6 | The largest fire in the United States is burning its way though the mountains of Utah 2 of 6 | A helicopter drops water on the Cottonwood Fire burning near Beaver, Utah, on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) 3 of 6 | Sunrise on the Cottonwood Fire in Kingston, Utah, on Saturday , June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil) 4 of 6 | A firefighter watches as the Cottonwood Fire burns near Beaver, Utah, on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) 5 of 6 | A helicopter drops water on the Cottonwood Fire burning near Beaver, Utah, on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) 6 of 6 | A plume of smoke rises from the Cottonwood Fire, Friday, June 26, 2026, near Beaver, Utah. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil) By Ty ONeil and Susan Montoya Bryan Updated 5:02 AM MESZ, June 28, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Beaver, Utah (AP) — wildfire activity has intensified across the western United States, as consecutive days of hot, dry and windy weather have fueled flames in Utah, Arizona and elsewhere as new fires popped up across the region. The largest blaze, the Cottonwood Fire, was burning in rugged terrain in southwest Utah. It ballooned Saturday to more than 144 square miles (373 square kilometers) after marching through canyons and mountainsides, destroying part of a ski resort and other summer cabins along the way. Authorities in Beaver County began working with fire teams on Saturday to assess the extent of the damage, but no estimates were immediately available. Gov. Spencer Cox in a post on social media called it bleak, but he thanked crews for what he called “several miraculous stops and saves.” The cliffs and steep slopes have made the job even harder, said Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the fire. “It’s hard to get dozers and other heavy equipment into that. It’s hard to get engines into that,” she said. “It doesn’t make it impossible to firefight, but it does just kind of slow things down.” BET Awards: Druski to make history as youngest host as show honors Lauryn Hill and Teyana Taylor 2 MIN READ Milei’s top aide and Cabinet chief resigns over spiraling corruption scandal 2 MIN READ 4 dead amid flooding caused by heavy rains, Kentucky governor says 1 MIN READ Hundreds of firefighters have been arriving in the arid state to battle new starts as well as those that have been growing because of what forecasters called critical fire weather — dangerously low humidity levels, warm temperatures and gusty winds. The danger is even higher this year because of Utah’s record-low snowpack and its warmest winter on record. Much of the West is grappling with similar conditions, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. From Alaska to Florida, crews worked Saturday to corral dozens of fires, including three dozen that were classified as large and uncontained. Nationally, nearly 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) have burned since the start of the year. That is more than the 10-year average. The conditions in Utah were critical enough for Gov. Spencer Cox to declare an emergency earlier this week and clear the way for the state to ban fireworks ahead of the July Fourth holiday. The order comes as Utah is experiencing one of the most severe wildfire seasons in recent history, fueled by historic drought conditions. State officials said that over the past week, Utah has seen an increase in wildfire starts, with each fire showing unprecedented behavior. These starts have stretched the state’s wildland firefighting capabilities, State Forester Jamie Barnes said. Forecasters with the National Weather Service over recent days have been issuing red flag warnings for a wide swath of the West, from California to Arizona and New Mexico. South of Grand Canyon National Park, authorities said the flames of a new wildfire were moving away from Grand Canyon Village and the nearby community of Tusayan on Saturday. But about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, another fire prompted Coconino County officials to issue evacuation orders for those near Kendrick Mountain. Parts of northern Arizona were without power Saturday as the utility serving the area initiated a safety shut-off in hopes of lessening the wildfire risk. Power shutoffs have become more common in the West as wildfire risk has expanded. It is usually a last resort after utility forecasters weigh factors like sustained wind and gust speeds, available fuels and topography. With extreme fire conditions persisting in Utah, Rocky Mountain Power also shut off power lines serving Beaver County and other areas. Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press writers Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio; and Ed White in Detroit contributed. Susan Montoya Bryan Montoya Bryan is a chief correspondent based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She joined the AP in 1998 and covers breaking news across the Mountain West, with a focus on energy and natural resources, public lands and cultural affairs. twitter mailto