From The Deseret News (Amy Joe O’Donoghue):
A few snowstorms and cold wintry conditions do not erase the West-wide drought, meaning the chances of a wildfire are not eliminated.
The majority of Utah, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, remains in extreme drought as of Thursday, and some portions of the state remain potentially ripe for wind-whipped wildfires…
The Marshall Fire that began Thursday moved so fast in the densely populated area that few people had time to grab any belongings and simply had to escape with their lives and pets…
Could a fire like Colorado’s ever happen in Utah?
While there is snow in the mountains and in some valleys across Utah, it does not mean that some portions of the state are not still at risk for wildfires, especially coming off record heat and dry conditions this summer…
There remains a low to moderate risk of wildfires in a huge swath of eastern Utah, creeping into a section of central Utah, according to a fire risk informational map put out by http://Utahfireinfo.gov…
Snow in the mountains and a potential wildfire on the range may seem at odds with each other, but climate scientists, hydrologists and others have warned repeatedly that it will take more than just one good winter to lift Utah and the rest of the West out of the drought because these incredibly drier-than-normal conditions have persisted for a couple of decades.
