Wildfires Surge As Salt Lake Preps For July 24

Utah summer can feel like two stories happening at once: the mountains and red rock are calling, while wildfires and heat keep raising the stakes. We start with a clear update on the state’s biggest blazes, including the Babylon Fire in San Juan County crossing 100,000 acres and becoming the largest active wildfire in the United States. I break down what “containment” really looks like on the ground, why conditions have been so brutal, and what the growing list of closures means for anyone planning time in Canyonlands, the Manti LaSal National Forest, or BLM areas near Indian Creek and Dark Canyon.

Then we pivot to something Salt Lake City does better than almost anywhere: making a holiday your own. July 24 is coming fast, so I lay out the essential guide to Pioneer Day, the Days of 47 Parade and rodeo, plus the alternative tradition that has become a true local classic, Pie and Beer Day. If you’ve ever wondered how to experience the day without forcing yourself into one lane, this is your roadmap for downtown, the Ballpark celebration, and the neighborhood events that make the city feel connected.

We wrap with a genuinely big win for the West Side: Salt Lake City lands an $11.5 million Bezos Earth Fund grant to bring shade and water-wise green space to the 9 Line Trail and to remake the Fleet Block brownfield into a public oasis. I also hit quick updates on Jazz summer league standout Darren Peterson, Salt Lake City School District enrollment declines and possible school closures, the shutdown of Provo Canyon School’s girls campus, and a key development in the Charlie Kirk murder case. Stay with me to the end for a preview of my upcoming conversation with Sean Ladle from Via 313 on why Detroit-style pizza from Austin is making a serious bet on Utah. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find local reporting that actually fits the way we live here.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What is up, everybody, and welcome back to the Small Lake City Podcast. I'm your host, Eric Nielsen, and we are deep into summer in Salt Lake City. And it's a big week. We've got a lot going on. Some serious stories, some great ones, and Pioneer Day is right around the corner. So we're going to break down everything happening on July 24th, whether you're more of a days of 47 person or a pie in beer person. We'll also talk about a major court development in the Charlie Kirk murder case, an important story about the future of public schools here in the city, a school in Provo that's finally being shut down after years of abuse allegations, and we've got a big update on your favorite new jazz player, Darren Peterson, who just put on a show right here in Salt Lake. So let's get into it. But before we do, if you missed last week's episode, go listen to my conversation with Dr. Jason Cryon, the executive director of the Natural History Museum of Utah. We talked about what it means to run one of the best natural history museums in the country, what those fossil halls actually represent, why Utah is such an extraordinary place for this kind of science, and yes, I asked him what his favorite dinosaur was. So you'll have to listen to find out. Really fun conversation, so go check it out. Alright, we need to talk about fires again, because the situation in Utah just got bigger. Last week we covered the Cottonwood Fire near Beaver, which at nearly 94,000 acres was the largest active wildfire in the United States. Good news on that front, it's now at 47% containment. Still burning, but crews have made real progress. The bad news?

Welcome And Week Ahead

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Utah now has the new largest fire in the country, and it's not even close. The Babylon fire, burning in San Juan County in the Manti LaSalle National Forest, about 25 miles southeast of Monticello, hit 100,000 acres this week. As of this morning, it's at 101,073 acres and 11% contained. It's the first Utah fire to hit six figures in nearly a decade, and it's now the largest active wildfire in the United States. The fire ignited on June 26th and almost immediately ran in conditions that fire officials described bluntly a lot of things are against us. Low humidity, dry timber, steep terrain, wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour. The Manti LaSalle National Forest Monticello Ranger District is fully closed. The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park is closed. BLM has shut down public lands across a wide swath of southeast Utah, including Shea Mesa, Beef Basin, Dart Canyon, and the Indian Creek Corridor. Five structures have been lost so far, significantly less than the Cottonwood Fire, largely because this area is more remote. But Monticello is nearby, and crews are actively doing structural protection planning

Utah Wildfires Hit Six Figures

SPEAKER_00 2:40

around the city. Over 1,350 personnel are assigned to the fire. Put these two fires together, and Utah has now burned more than 355,000 acres statewide this year, the most since 2018. And fire officials have warned this could go on for weeks or months. The monsoon season is the only natural leaf coming, and even that brings risks of its own. If you're planning any backcountry time in southeastern Utah this summer, Canyon Lands, Dark Canyon, the Indian Creek corridor for climbing, check inciweb.gov before you go. A lot of it is closed right now. Okay, July 24th is two and a half weeks away. And if you're new here, let me explain why it's a whole thing. Pioneer Day is a Utah State holiday. It commemorates July 24th, 1847, when Brigham Young and the first group of Latter-day Saint Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. It's as big here as the 4th of July, maybe bigger. Parades, rodeos, fireworks, the whole deal. The Days of 47 Parade is the main event, one of the biggest parades in the country, kicking off at 9 a.m. on South Temple and State Street, winding through downtown. If you've never watched it, it's worth doing at least once, but make sure to get there early. The Days of 47 Rodeo runs July 21st through the 25th at the Utah State Fair Park. Five nights of rodeo, live music, and drone and fireworks shows every night. One of the great summer traditions. Now, if you're someone who doesn't quite fit into the Pioneer celebration, there's a beautiful alternative that is very Salt Lake City. Pie and Beer Day. The name is a pun. Pie and beer sounds like Pioneer. It started as an underground counter celebration in the 1980s, built for people who wanted to gather on the 24th in their own way. Now it's one of the most beloved local traditions in the city. The big event, the official Pie and Beer Day celebration, is at the Ball Park Stadium, 77 West, 1300 South from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 24th. 20 plus local breweries paired with 20 plus local bakers, thousands of slices. Pies range from key

Pioneer Day Plans And Alternatives

SPEAKER_00 4:46

lime to Frito Crust chili pie to lemon shaker to pocket pies. It's chaotic and delicious. If you want to stay closer to home, Epic Brewing on State Street is doing a key lime pie pairing starting at noon. Chapel Brewing is South Chapel Brewing in South Salt Lake has an all-ages block party from 2 to 8 p.m. with food trucks, live bands, and a hard, slushy bar. And Milkreet Common is doing free pie and root beer floats from 6 p.m. with the line dancing music and Milkreet Common is doing free pie and root beer floats from 6 p.m. with line dancing, music, and cornhole. Family friendly, free, great neighborhood energy. There's also the Pioneer Trail pub crawl. Seven downtown bars as supply stops in a crawl based on the Oregon Trail video game. Starts at the Ruin at 4 p.m. Tickets are 5 bucks. Stops include Quarters Arcade Bar, Thieves Guild, Sign Insider, Water Witch, and more. Pick your lane. Parade and rodeo, pie and beer, or both. July 24th in this city is genuinely one of the best days of the year. Okay, let's end the main stories on something genuinely good, because this is a big deal for the West Side and it doesn't get enough attention. Salt Lake City just landed an $11.5 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, part of a $100 million national push called Greening America's Cities, that went to eight cities across the country. Salt Lake was the only Intermountain West City on the list. Here's what that money does. About 9.5 million goes toward converting 3.2 acres of underutilized gravel across the 10 blocks of the 9 Line Trail into a shaded urban forest with water-wise gardens. The 9 Line runs along 9th South through the Poplar Grove and Glendale neighborhoods, and more than 500,000 riders and pedestrians use it every year. Right now, that stretch is gravel. No shade, no green. This transforms it into something people actually want to spend time in. The remaining 2 million goes toward the Fleet Block site downtown, converting a former industrial brownfield into a public green oasis near 9th South and 3rd West. Mayor Mendenhall said it well. As our summers get hotter, shade and green space are no longer just nice additions. They are essential public infrastructure. And she's right, the nine line already connects West Side residents to downtown without needing a car. Now it gets trees, native plants, and somewhere to actually sit. Construction starts as early as next year. This is the kind of investment that makes a neighborhood. The West Side has been asking for this for a long time, and I'm glad it's finally happening. Alright, a few other quick stories

$11.5M To Shade The West Side

SPEAKER_00 7:19

before we jump into this week's guest. First, Darren Peterson put on a show at the NBA Salt Lake City Summer League this past week. Game one, the 4th of July, he dropped 28 points in overtime to beat the Hawks 103 to 102, while the Huntsman Center chanted his name. Game two, he put up 25 points and 12 assists against Cameron Boozer and the Grizzlies. Jazz won 109 to 100. Utah went 3-0 in the event, and Peterson was the best player in the whole thing. The kid is the real deal. Second, Salt Lake City School District enrollment has dropped 24% over the past decade, driven by lower birth rates, fewer families with children in the urban core, and an aging population. District leaders say more elementary school closures could be coming as some campuses fall well below capacity. It's a demographic story as much as an education story, and it's one that will shape a lot of neighborhood conversations in the next few years. Next, Provo Canyon School is shutting down its girls' campus. State regulators found the facility failed to protect teens from harm and used improper physical restraints. Survivors, including Paris Hilton, who attended as a teenager and has been one of the loudest advocates for change, called the closure validation for everyone who spoke up. Long overdue. And a quick update on the Charlie Kirk murder case. Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University last September. A cue shooter Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing is ongoing. A judge this week

Jazz Breakout And Serious Local News

SPEAKER_00 8:48

sets limits on what evidence is admissible as the case moves toward trial. One of the most closely watched cases in Utah right now, and we'll keep following it. And before I jump into this week's guests, uh there's two giveaways currently going on on Instagram. One to win two passes to the Love Always music festival, headlined by your favorite Benson Boone, Somber, and others that you are absolutely going to love. As well as another where you can win four passes to see your favorite concert at the Utah First Amphitheater. So make sure to check out on Instagram or TikTok to enter. Now, this week I'm sitting down with Sean Ladle, the director of operations for Via 313, the Austin-based Detroit-style pizza company that is making a serious bet on Utah. We talk about the food scene here, his favorite spots in the city, and what it looks like to take a regional pizza institution from Austin and plant a flag in Salt Lake. Detroit style pizza in Utah from Texas. It works. So come find out why. So that's this week, Small Lake City. Summer is fully here. Darren Peterson is the real deal, and Pie and Beer Day is 16 days away. Make sure to follow on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, wherever you can. And if you haven't joined the Discord yet, the link is in the show notes, as well as the link to subscribe to the newsletter as well. Have a great week, and I will see you soon with Sean Ladle.