Fast-growing fire near Bryce Canyon quickly reaches 11,000 acres in size

KANAB — A wildfire burning south of Bryce Canyon National Park has quickly blossomed to about 11,000 acres in size amid hot and dry conditions, making it the largest fire in the state this year.

The Deer Springs Fire in Kane County grew by about another 2,000 acres in size Monday afternoon, Bureau of Land Management officials wrote in an update Monday evening. About 120 people are now assigned to battle the fire, using seven engines, multiple aircraft and a water tender truck.

Bureau officials said the crews used northeast-blowing winds to attack the north end of the fire, which is closer to Deer Springs Ranch, as the fire helped push the fire south of Skutumpah Road.

"The goal remains to keep the fire to the smallest acres/smallest footprint as possible and utilize standard firefighting techniques using existing roads, natural barriers and equipment to safely suppress the fire," the agency wrote.

It's unclear how the fire started other than it appears to be human-caused. It was first reported on Sunday about 13 miles south of Bryce National Park's Yovimpa Point and remains 0% contained.

There are no evacuations in place, but Pasture Road and the Nephi Pasture and Crocodile parking lots are closed to the public amid firefighting operations. A section of Skutumpah Road between Johnson Canyon Road and Lick Wash is only open to residents.

Other fires burning in Utah

The Deer Springs Fire is one of several fires burning across the state this week, according to various state and federal agencies.

With the update, it's now larger than the Silver King Fire. Per a Monday update, the lightning-caused fire within Fishlake National Forest in northwest Piute County has burned 10,823 acres in size and remains 0% contained.

Residents in nearby Marysvale told KSL-TV they were surprised by how quickly that fire grew since it started on Friday. Federal officials say hundreds of homes are potentially threatened by the fire as well as several historic mining structures.

"This has been a really emotional fire for, honestly, everyone involved because there's a lot of history up in those hills of those mountains," said resident Ellery Gowdy.

Overall, 477 different fires have sparked throughout Utah this year. Those fires have burned close to 30,000 acres as of Monday afternoon.

This week's fire forecast

"Critical" fire conditions are expected to return on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for south-central and southwest Utah that will be in effect on Tuesday as wind and low relative humidity are expected to increase fire danger in those already active regions.

"Any new fire starts or existing fires may spread rapidly," the alert states.

The agency posted on X that wind is forecast to blow smoke from the Silver King and Deer Springs to communities south and west of the fires, including Beaver, Cedar City and St. George, through at least Tuesday.

Hot and dry conditions are forecast throughout the state for the rest of this week.

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