Fire Spreads Rapidly In Utah, Threatening Roads And Communities

We've had our fill of wildfires in Utah this year already, and yet the biggest one is burning nearly out of control right now..

Erratic fire behavior continues to drive rapid growth of the Monroe Canyon Fire, which has now burned nearly 46,000 acres as of this morning (July 31).

Overnight mapping shows the blaze expanded by more than 9,000 acres in just 24 hours.

Officials say the fire breached a key containment line on the southwest side and also jumped Bear Valley Road, moving closer to State Route 24 to the northeast.

State Route 24 was closed due to poor visibility for more than an hour Wednesday night, but was reopened. Officials beg those who need to travel the road to not stop along the way as visibility is so low that stopping could create severe traffic hazards for other vehicles, especially firefighters and other First Responders.

They also ask those who do not need to travel on SR24 to please stay away.

Intense heat was observed overnight across several areas of the fire, prompting concerns for further spread. Crews remain on high alert as dry conditions and wind continue to fuel the flames. 

Meanwhile, as the Monroe Canyon Fire burns near Richfield, officials warn of widespread power outages due to damaged transmission lines. 

Garkane Energy confirmed it de-energized lines for ALL of Wayne County as the fire grows closer to Garkane Energy transmission lines. This impacts nearly 3,000 power customers.

Utah officials say the Monroe Canyon Fire is the biggest wildfire of 2025 as well as anytime since the Dollar Ridge Fire back in 2019, which burned more than 65,000 acres.

The largest wildfire in Utah history was the Milford Flats Fire, which burned more than 363,000 acres back in 2007.

The biggest wildfire in the history of the United States was more than a century ago. The Great Fire of 1910 burned 3 million acres across Idaho, Montana and Washington.

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