SALT LAKE CITY — There's no longer just a wildfire season because the state is seeing wildfires all year round.
We’re just three months into 2026, and so far, the state has recorded a total of 31 wildfires. The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands fire prevention coordinator, Kayli Guild, said that number is average.
“We were at 33 at this exact day last year, so we are a little bit below from where we were last year, but the previous year before that, 2024, we were at 15 total wildfires,” Guild said.
In 2023, Guild said the state had a large amount of snowpack and in turn only had three wildfires by this time of year.
“Unfortunately, we’re at a below average snowpack,” Guild said. "The limited snowpack means that the grasses and the vegetation, they weren’t compressed or matted down over the winter, so it’s left a lot of extra standing, dry, fine fuel or vegetation that’ll dry out as soon as the temperatures start to dry, so it’ll leave that extra layer of fuel to burn."
At the Kaysville Fire Department, their crews know the hard work that comes along with fighting those wildfires.
“Those incidents are obviously much larger and require a lot more resources, coordination among a bunch of different agencies that don’t typically work together,” Kaysville Fire Capt. Tyler Reece said. "That’s probably one of the biggest challenges, having people come together that’ve never met each other. So having a framework to work under and with is really beneficial.”
Last year, Kaysville sent a team down to the Monroe Fire to help other firefighters who were in need or injured during the fire.
While it may mean sleeping on cots in tents, Reece said he and his fellow firefighters will never give up an opportunity to help others in need.
“It’s really a group effort to keep communities as safe as we can,” Reece added.
He said right now is all about prevention and making sure people have defensible space around their homes. According to the Utah Wildfire Info website, 28 of the 31 wildfires this year were human-caused.
“It’s everyone’s part, truly to do your mitigation and to make sure your home is essentially defendable,” Guild said.
For more information on fire prevention, visit utahfiresense.org.
