Utah's Wildfire Crisis Escalates

Seattle News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jun 28, 2026 · 1m

Utah’s Cottonwood Fire, now over 144 square miles, is racing through rugged canyons fueled by record-low snowpack, record-hot temperatures, and bone-dry winds—threatening ski resorts, cabins, and pushing firefighters to their limits. With nearly 3 million acres burned nationwide this year alone, Gov. Cox declared a state emergency, banning fireworks ahead of the Fourth of July and triggering widespread power shutoffs as utilities scramble to prevent sparks. This is no ordinary wildfire season—conditions are unprecedented, resources are stretched thin, and the danger is only escalating…