Heat, wind and drought conditions spark wildfires in US West
Source: AP
By VALERIE GONZALEZ
Updated 6:34 PM CDT, June 21, 2026
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Extreme heat and dry, windy conditions fueled several wildfires in the West on Sunday, including an uncontained blaze in Utah that forced the evacuation of a small town southwest of Salt Lake City.
The Iron Fire in Utah’s Juab County was first detected Saturday and had blackened 34 square miles (87 square kilometers), authorities said. The fire about 70 miles (113 kilometers) southwest 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, 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.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-evacuations-utah-colorado-florida-red-flag-66c8471df83ccc9663b746511b7ffd17