By Martha Crofts
Forest Fires are ablaze in surrounding states, but in Utah, only a few small fires have been found and nothing the state is too concerned about right now -- except the dryness.
Utah''s forests are not in the best conditions because we are still in a drought, said Susan Marzec, public affairs officer in the Utah State Office for the Utah Bureau of Land Management.
New fire restrictions for South West Utah are effective Friday morning, June 27, due to high fire danger. She said there has not been a need yet for restrictions elsewhere because of the recent rain.
'Be very, very careful,' Marzec said. 'It is still very dry out there.'
For a planned camping trip or outing in the future, Marzec advises checking the restrictions and laws for the area visited.
She also warns that visitors of parks and lands are responsible for checking on any restrictions that may be put in place.
The Utah Bureau of Land Management website www.ut.blm.gov posts any such restrictions for Utah lands.
Brian Winder, an Outdoors Unlimited employee from Lansing, Mich. majoring in mechanical engineering, said parks have the information on restrictions and any warnings available wherever you go.
'We rent a lot of equipment, but as far as where they go, we don''t know,' Winder said.
The Fourth of July weekend is a huge camping weekend. Celebrations of independence in federal lands have to be low key because any kind of fireworks are prohibited at all times.
But fires don''t only come from dryness.
Marzec said dry lightning, rain that does not hit the ground, can be devastating - it is what caused the three small forest fires in Utah this month.
'Lightning is the number one cause of fire in Utah,' Marzec said.
Dry lightning arises when clouds do not develop fully and lightning hits the ground with little or no rain. This is especially dangerous with the very dry conditions found on Utah land.
Marzec said there is not too much to fear regarding forest fires here in Utah compared to the fires in Arizona that have destroyed forests and more than 300 homes for over a week.
'I haven''t seen anything happening (here in Utah),' said Laura Bronson from Anchorage, Alaska majoring in elementary education. 'If I don''t see smoke or it moving closer then I don''t have any fear or anxiety.'