- Utah and federal agencies expand fire restrictions amid severe drought conditions.
- New restrictions include bans on steel ammunition, targets and certain lanterns on some federal land in northern Utah.
- Southwest Utah faces more Stage 1 fire restrictions, extending to state and unincorporated lands.
SALT LAKE CITY — Fire restrictions are extending across more parts of Utah, as drought conditions remain severe and extreme in the state.
The Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday that it has issued new restrictions within its West Desert District, which adds new restrictions to lands it manages in Box Elder, Cache, Juab, Millard, Morgan, Rich, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Wasatch and Weber counties.
It bans the use of any steel component ammunition of any caliber, steel component targets, sky lanterns (Chinese lanterns), fire balloons, and acetylene balloons or similar devices on bureau land in the district. Off-highway vehicles must be equipped with a properly installed and maintained spark arrestor, and spark arrestors must meet the 80% efficiency level standard, according to the order.
Federal land managers say target shooters should know their ammunition before visiting public lands, even if ammunition packaging may not indicate the presence of steel in the bullets they use. They recommend that people test their bullets with a magnet.
It comes as drought conditions have worsened in areas closer to the West Desert, even if they've improved in other parts of the state, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported earlier in the day. Approximately 60% of the state is in extreme drought, up nearly 1 percentage point from last week.
The growing section in northwest Utah is close to a pocket of exceptional drought — the worst drought category — that has formed across southwest Idaho, especially in the Raft River Mountains. That section has also experienced the brunt of the Great Basin's recent fire activity, Great Basin Predictive Services officials said.
Nearly 1% of Utah, all in northeast Utah, was in exceptional drought last week. It's now back down to extreme drought, thanks to storms through the state between reports.
Expanded restrictions in southwest Utah
Meanwhile, the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands ordered new Stage 1 fire restrictions for southwest Utah that went into effort Friday. The order adds new restrictions across state-managed lands and unincorporated private land within Beaver, Iron, Washington, Kane and Garfield counties.
It matches Stage 1 restrictions that the Bureau of Land Management ordered for land it manages in the same counties last month, prohibiting any open fires or campfires that use solid or "ash-producing" fuels, as well as smoking, except within a vehicle or an enclosed area.
It issued similar restrictions to unincorporated private and state lands in Summit County, which go into effect on Saturday.
Zion National Park returned to Stage 2 fire restrictions last month. That order prevents any campfires or open fires of any kind at most areas within the park, including at the Watchman Campground, South Campground or picnic areas in Zion Canyon.
All of Utah is currently listed as having fire potential this month, per the National Interagency Coordination Center.
