Wildfires raging in Utah forced the evacuation of an entire town over the weekend, rerouted ambulances away from a Salt Lake City hospital and demanded backup resources from other states.
For months, officials warned that a winter of record warmth and snow drought helped dry out the state, priming Utah for an especially dangerous fire season. By Monday, this year’s wildfires had torched more than 45,000 acres.
State leaders have also emphasized that most wildfires are preventable. Authorities suspect humans are responsible for starting at least four of five large fires burning in the state as of Monday, though they did not provide details on the pending investigations…