Utah News

Monsoonal flows helped firefighters in southern Utah gain the upper hand on wildfires last week, but the same summer weather phenomenon also brings lightning. It was only a matter of time before southern Utah felt the monsoon's double-edged sword.

There are a dozen or so small fires burning in the Arizona strip caused by lightning. the most threatening appears to be the Baboon Fire burning between Cedar City and Minersville.

The fire has burned 1,500 acres and is 0% contained.

When Utah Congressman Jim Matheson cast his vote in favor of repealing the 2010 health care reform law Wednesday, he was one of only five Democrats in the House of Representatives to do so. The 6-term lawmaker opposed the bill when it passed out of Congress, but had also previously voted against repealing it once it became law. Jeff Robinson asked Matheson why he voted the way he did.

Several Utah military families were paid a visit last night from Second Lady of the United States Jill Biden.  Dr. Biden, a military mom herself, spent more than an hour speaking to a small crowd at the Utah National Guard Air Base in Salt Lake City.

The new expanded bans apply to areas in southern Utah and northwest Arizona. The new restrictions go into effect in Washington, Iron, Beaver, Kane, Garfield, Wayne, Piute, Sevier and Sanpete Counties, as well as BLM lands in Coconino and Mohave Counties in Arizona.

State Forester Dick Buehler  says a ban on target shooting to take effect on Wednesday is the first-ever of its kind.
The ban covers specific target shooting sites on public or private land in Cache, Davis, Summit, and Utah Counties.