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Utah fire officials report 801 wildfires and rising share of human-caused starts this season
Summary
State Forester Jamie Barnes told the committee Utah has logged 801 wildfires so far in 2025, with about 70% now attributed to human causes and 161,223 acres burned statewide; the state has incurred roughly $29 million in estimated costs to date.
Jamie Barnes, state forester with the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, told the Interim Committee on Aug. 20 that Utah—s 2025 wildfire season has been unusually active and costly. “We have a total of a 93 responses to fires...and as of right now, we have 801 wildfires,” Barnes said, summarizing statewide incident counts and response levels.
Barnes said 93% of fires were contained at 10 acres or less but that human-caused ignitions have climbed. “Unfortunately, 564 of these fires have been human caused…We're now at 70%,” she said, and noted that the number of human starts increased compared…
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