Lightning started a wildfire (the Flat Fire) on Poverty Flat about 3 miles south of Monroe late in the afternoon on the 15th. The fire spread rapidly across 6000 acres that evening in very dry sage and pinyon/juniper due to strong thunderstorm winds.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS SLC wrote it up.
Lightning started a wildfire (the Flat Fire) on Poverty Flat about 3 miles south of Monroe late in the afternoon on the 15th. The fire spread rapidly across 6000 acres that evening in very dry sage and pinyon/juniper due to strong thunderstorm winds. A young man was killed when trying to outrun the fire on Poverty Flat. A Type 1 Incident Team (Birch) had the fire controlled about 4 days later.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildfire, Sevier | 1997-07-15 | 21 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, July 1997
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5622901.