Babylon Fire becomes first Utah fire to reach 100,000-acre mark in 8 years

MONTICELLO — A wildfire continuing to burn in southeast Utah is now the state’s first to surpass 100,000 acres in size in nearly a decade.

The Babylon Fire burning in the Manti-La Sal National Forest, 25 miles southwest of Monticello, has now scorched close to 100,500 acres, Great Basin Incident Management Team 2 officials said on Tuesday. It continued to spread east and northeast, which was expected due to hot and dry fire conditions, firefighters said.

It’s the first wildfire to reach the 100,000-acre mark since Utah County’s Pole Creek Fire in 2018, which burned 102,000 acres. That year also produced the Goose Creek Fire in Box Elder County, which burned over 130,000 acres.

Only four other wildfires have reached that size over at least the past 20 years, as wildfire size data has become better documented. The largest in that time remains the Milford Flat Fire in 2007, which burned over 363,000 acres in Beaver County.

The Babylon Fire became the nation’s largest active fire this week. It remains 0% contained, with over 1,200 personnel assigned to battling it. The fire, which sparked on June 26, has destroyed five structures.

Some of the crews assigned to the fire spent Monday working on structure protection in and around the Monticello area, including “assessing and improving protection measures for homes, infrastructure, and critical facilities,” Great Basin Incident Management Team 2 officials said.

Hot temperatures, low relative humidity and wind gusts of up to 25 mph are forecast on Tuesday, which firefighters anticipate will continue to create “very active” fire conditions.

Over half of Cottonwood Fire now contained

Meanwhile, firefighters continue to gain containment of the Cottonwood Fire in Beaver County. It’s now 56% contained, up 9 percentage points from Monday.

However, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for most of southwest and central Utah, where hot, dry and windy conditions are expected to create “critical fire weather conditions.” Great Basin Incident Management Team 5 officials cautioned that low humidities and gusty winds could cause “sudden changes and increases in fire behavior” on Tuesday.

The fire has burned 95,934 acres, with more than 1,250 personnel assigned to it. It has destroyed approximately 150 structures, which Gov. Spencer Cox said could make it the costliest fire in state history.

“There’s a very good chance this is already the most destructive fire in the state’s history. … It’s certainly catastrophic,” he said on June 24, two days after it started.

It’s still unclear what sparked it or the Babylon Fire.

Over 410 fires have been reported in Utah so far this year, burning more than 355,000 acres statewide. It’s also the most acreage lost to wildfires since 2018.