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No homes had been lost, and UTAH Fire Info, a multiagency
operation, said in a post on X that firefighters conducted a
successful backburn 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.
Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox visited the town 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.
A 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,
about 300 fire personnel were fighting the blaze, which remained
uncontained. Residents evacuated earlier were still not being
allowed to return home.
Much of the Western U.S. from the Rockies to the Pacific coast
saw above-average temperatures this weekend with even hotter
weather anticipated for early this week. Officials 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 U.S. Drought Monitor. In Colorado, the
southwest 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.
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 Southwest on Sunday, with a forecast of
up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 C) in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Meanwhile, the Florida Forest Service said fire crews from
across the state had nearly contained several brush fires in
western Miami-Dade County in Florida,
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