2026年6月26日 / 美国东部时间晚上9:35 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
犹他州周五宣布进入紧急状态并限制烟花燃放，以应对即将到来的独立日庆祝活动，与此同时美国境内最大的山火在极度干燥的森林中蔓延，消防人员正紧急扑救该州多处新起火情。
美国国家气象局发布了罕见的“特别危险局势”预警，干燥多风的天气为美国西部多地火灾提供了蔓延条件。
犹他州南部人口稀少地区的卡顿伍德山火于周一爆发。林业官员表示，截至周五，火情已蔓延至超过112平方英里，由于强风导致空中支援无法开展，火势仍在 uncontrolled 蔓延。作为犹他州6处大型山火之一，该火灾严重损毁了比弗县的鹰点滑雪场，迫使居民强制疏散。
截至周五晚间，犹他州境内共有10处活跃山火，过火面积超过14.47万英亩，根据该州山火监控平台数据。卡顿伍德山火过火面积近7.2万英亩， containment 率为0%。
“我们遭遇了预报中的35英里/小时持续大风，还出现了45英里/小时的阵风，”负责该火情的发言人艾莉莎·梅森说道。“火势活动明显增强，我们观测到了极端火情，包括树冠火和明显的飞火。”
2026年6月26日周五，浓烟从犹他州比弗附近的卡顿伍德山火中升起。泰·奥尼尔 / 美联社照片
浓烟正向东和东北方向飘散，这意味着位于火场以南的热门度假胜地锡安和布莱斯峡谷国家公园的空气质量并未受到显著影响，仅布莱斯地区出现了一些雾霾。不过，布莱斯的游客已在社交媒体上发布了远处巨型烟柱的视频。
浓烟在数百英里外都可见，最远可及科罗拉多州。当局已通知玛丽斯维尔、容克申和瑟克莱维尔镇的约1300名居民，若火情恶化、火势进一步蔓延，应做好撤离准备。
州林业主管杰米·巴恩斯周四曾表示，此次火情是近年罕见的。她说，火情在“超出历史预期的条件下”蔓延得更远、更快。
76岁的布鲁斯·布朗周四陪同警长前往灾区，发现他的小屋和当地其他房屋已被烧毁。眼前只剩下一片焦土，峡谷沿线的电线杆都被吹倒。
27岁的艾莉莎·奥尔森表示，她家的小屋也被烧毁。那里是她祖母因癌症去世前，他们一家拍摄全家福的最后一处场所。她的兄弟原本计划两个月后在那里举办婚礼。
“这些东西是没法重建的，”奥尔森说道。
犹他州州长斯宾塞·考克斯宣布实施临时烟花限制令，有效期至7月5日。正值美国准备庆祝建国250周年之际，他表示“今年情况特殊”。
盐湖城国家气象局发布了该办公室历史上首次针对犹他州5个县的“特别危险局势”预警，其中包括卡顿伍德山火发生区域。这种罕见预警最初用于预警龙卷风风险。该州大部分地区同时发布了红旗预警。
“现在就为火势快速蔓延做好准备，”预警中写道。
2025年洛杉矶帕利塞兹山火也曾发布类似的“危险局势”预警。周五，针对被控引发该山火的乔纳森·林德克内希特的纵火案庭审，联邦法官宣布审判无效，陪审团未能达成一致裁决。
尽管卡顿伍德山火的起火原因尚未查明，但考克斯的禁令指出，今年以来犹他州大部分山火均由人为因素引发。根据犹他州山火数据，今年该州已发生376起山火，其中273起为人为原因。
州长的禁令授权巴恩斯直接限制或禁止犹他州市镇范围内的烟花燃放，而非将决策权下放给各社区。
2026年6月26日周五由美国林务局提供的照片显示，6月24日周三，消防员在犹他州比弗附近的伯奇湖上空扑救卡顿伍德山火。迈克·麦克米兰 / 美国林务局 via 美联社
随着极端火情持续，落基山电力公司向犹他州中部、南部和东部部分地区发布了周末期间的公共安全断电预警/警戒。
消防人员同时还在盐湖城西南部扑救铁山火。周四，火情迫使人口1000人的尤里卡镇临时疏散。
红旗预警意味着低湿度、高温和强风等条件可能引发极端山火风险，该预警周五生效，范围从爱达荷州延伸至亚利桑那州南部和新墨西哥州。
预警将持续至周六，预报人员预测届时风速将达25至35英里/小时，湿度极低。最恶劣的火情条件预计出现在北亚利桑那州至犹他州中南部地区。
根据美国干旱监测机构数据，犹他州大部分地区已遭遇严重至极端干旱，科罗拉多州、亚利桑那州和新墨西哥州部分地区也处于严重干旱状态。
西部区域气候中心研究教授兼主任蒂姆·布朗表示，只要天气炎热、干燥且多风，极端火情的可能性就会持续存在。
“随着独立日周末临近，我不会对出台大量限制措施感到意外，”他说。“如果人们要去森林露营区和草原地区，务必留意周边环境。”
即便在发生多起灌丛火灾的佛罗里达州，当局也敦促民众放弃个人燃放烟花，将烟火表演交由专业人员精心策划的官方活动来举办。
在犹他州，联邦土地管理部门已临时关闭卡顿伍德山火附近的公共土地作为预防措施；在新墨西哥州，林业部门关闭了希梅兹山脉一处山火附近的露营地和步道。
全国范围内，今年年初以来已有近300万英亩土地被烧毁，过火面积超出10年均值。美国国家跨部门消防中心表示，从阿拉斯加到佛罗里达州，消防员在控制火情方面正取得进展。
Utah declares emergency, limits fireworks ahead of July Fourth as crews battle largest U.S. wildfire
June 26, 2026 / 9:35 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Utah restricted fireworks and declared a state of emergency Friday ahead of July Fourth celebrations as the United States’ largest wildfire expanded its reach across more tinder-dry forest, as crews rush to fight new blazes in the arid state.
The National Weather Service issued a rare “Particularly Dangerous Situation” warning as dry, windy conditions provided fuel for more fires across the western U.S.
The Cottonwood Fire in a sparsely populated area of southern Utah started Monday. It ballooned to more than 112 square miles by Friday, burning unchecked as strong winds grounded air support, forestry officials said. One of six large wildfires burning in Utah, it severely damaged the Eagle Point ski resort in Beaver County, forcing mandatory evacuations.
As of Friday evening, Utah had 10 active wildfires burning across more than 144,700 acres, according to the state’s wildfire dashboard. The Cottonwood Fire had burned nearly 72,000 acres and is at 0% containment.
“We have the 35 miles-per-hour sustained winds that they predicted, and we definitely have the 45 miles-per-hour gusts,” said Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the fire. “So there has been a great increase in the fire activity. We are seeing extreme fire behavior out there with some crown runs and definitely some spotting.”
A plume of smoke rises from the Cottonwood Fire, Friday, June 26, 2026, near Beaver, Utah. Ty ONeil / AP Photo
The smoke has been pushing to the east and northeast, meaning air quality at popular vacation spots like Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks — located far south of the flames — hasn’t been significantly affected beyond some haze in the Bryce area. Still, visitors to Bryce have posted videos on social media showing the giant plume in the distance.
The smoke could be seen for hundreds of miles, all the way to Colorado, as authorities put roughly 1,300 residents in the towns of Marysvale, Junction and Circleville on notice that they should be prepared to leave if conditions worsen and the fire pushes farther.
State forester Jamie Barnes had said Thursday that it’s like nothing seen in recent memory. She said fires are spreading farther and faster “under conditions that defy historical expectations.”
Bruce Brown, 76, accompanied the sheriff on Thursday to find that his cabin and others in the area were gone. He found a burned-out moonscape with power poles tipped over along the canyon.
Alyssa Olsen, 27, said her family’s cabin also burned. It was the last place they gathered for family photos with her grandmother before she died of cancer. Her brother was planning to get married there in two months.
“That stuff you can’t just build back,” Olsen said.
Gov. Spencer Cox set the temporary fireworks restrictions through July 5 as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, saying “this year is different.”
The weather service in Salt Lake City, for the first time in the office’s history, issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” warning for five Utah counties, including the area of the Cottonwood Fire. The rare alert was first used to warn of tornado conditions. A red flag warning was also issued for most of the state.
“Prepare now for rapid fire growth,” it said.
A similar “dangerous situation” warning had been issued for the 2025 Palisades Fire in Los Angeles. A federal judge declared a mistrial Friday in the arson case against Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man accused of sparking that fire. The jury said it couldn’t agree on a verdict.
While the Cottonwood Fire’s cause was unknown, Cox’s order noted that humans have been the cause of most fires in the state so far this year. Utah has seen 376 wildfires this year, and 273 of those were caused by humans, according to Utah’s wildfire data.
The governor’s order gives Barnes power to restrict or prohibit fireworks displays in Utah’s cities and towns, instead of leaving those decisions to the communities.
This image provided by the U.S. Forest Service Friday, June 26, 2026, shows firefighters responding to the Cottonwood Fire on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, above Birch Lake, near Beaver, Utah. Mike McMillan/U.S. Forest Service via AP
With extreme fire conditions persisting, Rocky Mountain Power issued a public safety power shut-off watch/warning for areas of central, southern and eastern Utah through the weekend.
Crews were also battling the Iron Fire southwest of Salt Lake City. The flames on Thursday forced the temporary evacuation of Eureka, population 1,000.
Red flag warnings, which mean conditions such as low humidity, warm temperatures and strong winds can create an extreme wildfire risk, were in effect Friday and stretched from Idaho to southern Arizona and New Mexico.
The warnings extended into Saturday, with forecasters predicting winds of 25 to 35 miles an hour and very low humidity levels. The worst conditions were expected from northern Arizona into central and southern Utah.
Much of Utah already is experiencing severe to extreme drought, while parts of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico are experiencing severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Tim Brown, a research professor and director of the Western Regional Climate Center, said the potential for extreme fire behavior will remain as long as it’s hot, dry and windy.
“I would not be surprised to see a lot of restrictions come out as we get closer to the July Fourth weekend,” he said. “People really need to be aware of their surroundings if they’re going to be out in the forested campground areas and grassland areas.”
Even in Florida, where there have been multiple brush fires, authorities are urging people to skip the personal fireworks and instead leave the pyrotechnics to professionals putting on carefully planned shows.
In Utah, federal land managers have closed public lands near the Cottonwood Fire as a precaution, and in New Mexico, forest officials closed campgrounds and trails near a wildfire burning in the Jemez Mountains.
Nationally, nearly 3 million acres have burned since the start of the year, pushing the U.S. ahead of the 10-year average. The National Interagency Fire Center said firefighters are making progress on containing fires from Alaska to Florida.