Babylon Fire

The Babylon Fire ignited on June 26, 2026 in Babylon Pasture on federal land about 25 miles southwest of Monticello, Utah, and under 50 mph winds and single-digit humidity it exploded across the Manti-La Sal National Forest, Bears Ears National Monument, the Dark Canyon Wilderness, and portions of Canyonlands National Park's Needles District — moving 20,000 acres a day in its first week. By mid-July the blaze had grown to more than 106,600 acres and reached 54% containment after a weekend of favorable weather, becoming Utah's first megafire since the 2018 Pole Creek Fire and the largest active wildfire in the country.

Five structures have been destroyed and nearly 1,500 personnel are assigned to the fire, backed by helicopters, air tankers, and drones in a federal firefighting effort that has already cost close to $42 million. The San Juan County Sheriff's Office placed six evacuation zones west of Monticello — CY-1, CY-2, Peters Hill West, Airport, Energy, and SJC-1 — into SET status, directing residents to gather belongings, secure records, and identify an evacuation destination, and the city of Monticello itself was placed on a heightened evacuation alert. The Utah Department of Corrections relocated 76 people from the San Juan County Jail to the Utah State Correctional Facility and the Sanpete County Jail as a precaution. Roads and trails across the Monticello Ranger District, Needles District, Shay Mesa, Beef Basin, Dark Canyon, and the Sweet Alice Wilderness Study Area remain closed, and downstream communities are already filling sandbags to brace for post-fire flooding on burn-scarred slopes.

The American Red Cross of Utah has coordinated emergency shelter and support for evacuees, and the Salvation Army of Intermountain is providing meals, hydration, and comfort supplies to displaced families and firefighters on the line. FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to help reimburse state and local firefighting costs as crews work to hold containment lines through July.