A rare and powerful “firenado” tornado fueled by wildfire caused destruction and winds of up to 122 miles per hour in southeastern Utah, but thankfully did not result in any injuries

A firefighter battling the Forsyth Fire in southern Utah near Pine Valley was injured this week and had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital.

Fire officials warn residents about the dry conditions across the state as high winds and scattered dry thunderstorms roll through Utah. Earlier this week Summit County increased its fire danger to “very high,” amid Stage 1 fire restrictions.

A brush fire near the Idaho-Utah border has grown to over 500 acres. The fire is west of Interstate 15 in the Samaria area.

The Forsyth Fire, burning near Pine Valley in Washington County, grew another 775 acres, according to a July 11 update from the U.S. Forest Service. The spread occurred on the southern edge of the fire, where crews are focusing aircraft and ground efforts. Smoke also increased over the last 24 hours as winds pushed the fire into unburned fuel.

According to Utah Fire Info, more than 71,000 acres have burned this year, just 20,000 acres short of what burned all of last year.

Firefighters on the scene of the 10,000-acre Deer Creek Fire in southern Utah captured video of a massive vortex of fire and smoke swirling in the

The southwesterly winds are amping up as a weak storm system, also known as a trough, passes through Southern Idaho. The passing front will allow for isolated dry thunderstorms from northern to eastern Utah, while increasing wind speeds and gusts in the southern half of the state. As a result, we see an elevated fire risk for most of the state.