The Cottonwood Fire, the largest wildfire in the nation, was last mapped at 71,848 acres with no containment recorded. The fire, which was determined to be human-caused, was discovered on Monday, June 22, in Beaver County and burned through tens of thousands of acres in a matter of days.
The wildfire burned east of Beaver, Utah, across both Beaver and Piute Counties. According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), the Cottonwood Fire remained the largest fire burning in the nation at that time.
Beaver Mayor Matt Robinson stated on Thursday that while the community knew such a possibility existed, the scale of the event was unexpected. The fire caused significant impacts including evacuations across Beaver County and property loss at Eagle Point Resort, which closed to recover from the damage.
Kayli Guild, the prevention and fire communications coordinator with the Utah Division for Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, noted that resources were stretched thin. Guild advised the public to remain vigilant because firefighters were tired and the situation could potentially worsen.
Nationwide, the National Interagency Fire Center reported that firefighters were working to contain 36 large fires, with 35,247 fires burning more than 2.9 million acres so far this year.
