APTOPIX Western Wildfires

The largest fire in the United States is burning through tinder-dry forest in Utah. It is fueled by conditions that fire managers and experts call unprecedented. There was little relief from the strong winds on Saturday. But crews were treated to higher humidity levels than expected while fighting the fast-moving Cottonwood Fire. Gov. Spencer Cox asked people to pray for rain. He also declared an emergency, and the state restricted fireworks as a result. Red flag warnings were also in effect for parts of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

Three firefighters have died and two were injured while battling fires on the Colorado-Utah border. The U.S. Wildland Fire Service says they were responding to the Knowles and Gore fires on Saturday. Wildfire activity has intensified across the Western U.S. due to hot, dry, and windy weather. The largest blaze, the Cottonwood Fire, has grown to over 146 square miles in southwest Utah. Utah's governor declared an emergency earlier this week, and Colorado's governor on Saturday followed suit and authorized the National Guard to help. Conditions have been critical, with record-low snowpack and extreme drought fueling the fires.

Federal officials say that the three firefighters killed over the weekend in a Colorado wildfire were part of a crew that goes into remote areas to quickly put out new fires.  The firefighters were killed and two others suffered burns when they were overcome Saturday by flames after deploying emergency shelters to shield themselves from fast-moving fires. The U.S. Forest Service identified the firefighters killed in Colorado as Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Michigan; Nick Hutcherson, 27 of Glendale, Arizona; and Sydney Watson, 26, of Warrior, Alabama. Wildfires have erupted over the past week across the West, fueled by months of dry weather.