Cottonwood Fire Burns Over 61,000 Acres in Southern Utah, Remains Uncontained

The Cottonwood Fire has burned at least 61,000 acres in a sparsely populated part of southern Utah and remains completely uncontained, NPR reported. The fire, larger than Salt Lake City, triggered evacuations in Beaver and Piute counties and caused significant damage to a ski resort.

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued a "particularly dangerous situation" red flag warning for parts of Utah on Friday, June 26, 2026, the first time the office has done so.

The warning cited high winds, high temperatures and low humidities. Single-digit humidities, wind gusts around 45 miles per hour and fuel moistures between 2 and 8 percent occurred on the fire. Incident managers pulled firefighters off the line Friday afternoon because of the winds, and helicopters and other aircraft were grounded.

At least six wildfires are burning in Utah. Extreme wildfire behavior is expected to continue through the weekend, with critical fire weather conditions persisting into Sunday. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox issued an emergency order last week that temporarily restricts firework displays through the Fourth of July holiday.

"When people who've dedicated their lives to protecting Utah tell us this year is different, we desperately need to listen," he said. Utah's snowpack peaked three weeks earlier than normal and was the lowest on record after an abnormally dry winter that left much of Utah, Nevada and Colorado in widespread drought. Cooler temperatures and higher humidities are forecast for the region next week.