New wind-whipped Utah wildfire surpasses 24,000 acres, prompts evacuations

A wildfire burning in Utah has grown to more than 24,000 acres, prompting mandatory evacuations of homes and campgrounds and completely closing a highway in the mountainous area.

Fueled by drought conditions and wind gusts of up to 50 mph, the Cottonwood Fire in Beaver County started Monday afternoon and spread rapidly, according to Utah Fire Info.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the blaze had spread to 21,400 acres and was 0% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Cottonwood Fire ignited around 3:36 p.m. on Monday, threatening populated areas in Beaver County, according to officials.

Just after 9 p.m. local time on Monday, residents in the Eagle Point and Merchant Valley areas of Beaver County were ordered to evacuate immediately as flames bore down on the area, authorities said.

Fire officials said on Tuesday that they suspect the Cottonwood Fire is a human-caused blaze, but released no additional details, according to ABC affiliate station KTVX in Salt Lake City.

The Cottonwood Fire is one of 344 wildfires currently burning across Utah, consuming more than 64,000 acres combined, according to Utah Fire Info.

The biggest active fire is the Iron Fire burning in Juab County, about 28 miles southwest of Provo. As of Tuesday morning, the Iron Fire had burned 31,314 acres and was 9% contained, said Al Nash, public information officer for the Great Basin Team 3, a federal agency in charge of the incident.

Nash told ABC News that firefighters battling the Iron Fire are bracing for another day of hot, dry and windy conditions.

The fire has prompted numerous evacuations in the area, including the complete evacuation of the town of Eureka, which has a population of just over 600.

"Our firefighters are expecting to have another challenging day," said Nash, adding that humidity is expected to drop into the single digits.

Kelly Wicken, a spokesperson for the Utah Division of Forestry, said the blaze started on private land and has now spread across Juab and two other counties, crossing onto federal land and shutting down a highway.

Before the fire, the National Weather Service had issued red flag fire danger warnings for a large part of the state.

Red flag warnings and fire weather watches are in place across southern and central Utah and through much of western and central Colorado, Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. Strong winds and low humidity are expected to fuel the existing fires and enable new fires to spark and spread rapidly.