By Alixel Cabrera | Reporter
An “explosive” start to the wildfire season has intensified firefighters’ concerns about their safety and fatigue, especially after losing three colleagues in a burnover incident in Colorado, near the Utah border.
The firefighters’ deaths are a stark reminder of a tragedy that happened nearly 13 years ago, when 19 members of the Granite Mountain hotshots perished in the Yarnell Hill Wildfire in Arizona on June 30, 2013.
In today’s Dispatch, we report on firefighters’ concerns as they mourn three of their own, preventive power shutoffs predictions, and why Idaho’s shining housing metrics aren’t enough.
“We haven’t really gotten to the heart of the Western fire season yet. It’s still somewhat early, being the end of June. Seeing some of the explosive fire growth that we’re seeing definitely raises some concerns for July, August and September.” — Matt Brossard, National Federation of Federal Employees representative about this year’s dangerous firefighting conditions.
A line of firefighters check for hotspots and secure the fire line on the Cottonwood Fire near Beaver, Utah, in a photo shared on Saturday, June 28, 2026. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Forest Service)
By Annie Knox
Firefighters are sounding the alarm after Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson, three members of an interagency wildland firefighter crew, died when flames overtook them as they battled the Knowles and Gore fires.
More extreme wildfire conditions lay ahead in Utah and staffing is a big concern among first responders, who have seen “pretty big holes in critical positions,” according to union representatives.
A burn scar from the Sandhurst 2 wildfire is pictured on the hillside near Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City on Thursday, June 11, 2026. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Alixel Cabrera
Rocky Mountain Power activated a relatively rare power shutoff protocol last week meant to prevent wildfires, temporarily cutting energy service for over 7,700 customers. A 48-hour public safety power shutoff warning was the third Utah’s largest utility has issued in four years.
Should Utahns expect more outages as one of the most wildfire-prone seasons continues in Utah? It depends on what the utility’s own meteorologists forecast.
A construction crew works outside a new development in Boise. Idaho leads the nation in population growth and housing growth metrics. (Photo by Abigail Gerstein/Idaho Capital Sun)
IDAHO CAPITAL SUN
By Abigail Gerstein
For the second year in a row, Idaho had the highest housing unit growth rate in the nation. But the 2.1% housing stock boost the state amassed in 2025 still falls short of need as the state’s population surges.
The state has far outpaced national metrics. However, housing shortages outside its borders and an influx of people moving into the state have added a layer of complexity to the state’s success.
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