Wildfire crews look on after wildfire agencies laid out their preparation and expectation for the wildfire season in Utah Thursday, June 9, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Utah’s wildfire season has been relatively mild so far this year but state officials said Thursday that the state is primed to burn more than in 2015. A wet winter and spring delivered needed moisture to forests in canyons and higher elevations, but it also caused more grass to grow in valleys, said Basil Newmerzhycky, a fire weather meteorologist with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Published Tuesday, June 28, 2016
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Fire officials say Utah will have a higher risk for wildfires this week as dry thunderstorms are expected to move in.
Officials with the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and state Department of Natural Resources say dry thunderstorms could develop in southern Utah on Tuesday.
Lightning from those dry storms could spark fires on dry grasslands and timber without providing relief from with rain.
An interagency fire prevention team says the chance of those storms increases Wednesday through Friday as those storms move into central or northern Utah.
Officials say storms expected next week should bring some needed rainfall.
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