Wild fire in Utah becomes the largest in states history by Nina Ridge

A wildfire which has been burning since Friday across Utah has become the largest in the states history as it continues into its fourth day. The fire has now consumed over 280,000 acres of grassland in western USA, which is equivalent to just over three times the size of the Isle of Wight. Prior to this the largest blaze seen in the area was in 1983 when a fire charred almost 250,000 acres of grassland.

Ignited by lightning, the fire, now dubbed the ‘Milford Flat Blaze’ started near the city of Milford, 230 miles south of Salt Lake City. It forced the closure of a number of interstate highways, with the smoke from the flames causing several road accidents resulting in two deaths.

Utah, along with a number of western states has been suffering from extreme weather conditions over the past few months, helping to fuel the blaze. High winds, low humidity and temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38C) have created extremely dry conditions which have helped the fire spread. Despite air tankers being called in over the weekend to try and control the blaze, it continues to burn, destroying almost 300,000 acres of land. With the heat wave expected to continue over the next few weeks fire fighter have got a battle on their hands.