Utah fire officials are increasing fire restrictions as hot, dry and windy conductions continue across the state.
They ban open flames of any kind, including charcoal grills and barbecues, on all state and private unincorporated lands, all Bureau of Land Management lands and the Fish Lake, Manti-La Sal and Dixie national forests.
Violating Stage 2 restrictions is a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The restrictions come after almost 50 new wildfires sparked this week, bringing Utah’s total to about 690 so far this year.
That is higher than the state’s five-year average of 661 fires by August.
Almost 70% of Utah’s fires this year have been human-caused.
