Last week’s rain gave Utah firefighters something they desperately needed: a break from aggressive wildfire behavior.
The moisture increased relative humidity, dampened fuels and helped moderate activity on some of the state’s larger fires. More importantly, it gave crews an opportunity to be proactive and strengthen containment lines.
“The rain was a nice relief for firefighters across the state,” said Kelly Wickens, a public information officer with Utah Wildland Fire. “It did help increase our relative humidity and moderate the fire behavior and some of the fire activity on our larger fires.”
With fires burning across extremely dry landscapes, even a temporary slowdown can make a significant difference.
Wickens said the quieter conditions allowed firefighters to secure more of the perimeter around larger fires and improve containment.
But the relief won't last long.
Temperatures are already climbing again this week, and as fuels dry out, fire behavior can increase. Wickens says firefighters will continue watching containment lines closely as conditions change.
“Definitely don't let your guard down because as the heat increases fields dry out and that fire behavior will continue to increase,” Wickens said.
Another concern this week will be thunderstorms capable of producing dry lightning.
“Dry lightning could produce new starts,” said NWS meteorologist Julie Cunningham, although she noted that winds are not expected to be particularly strong this week.
That combination means the rain helped — but it did not end Utah's wildfire season.
“Fire season is definitely not over,” Wickens said. “We still have several months to get through and we're prepared to do that.”
