This is your daily news rundown for Monday, June 22. In this edition:
- Thousands of Eureka residents evacuated because of a fast-growing new fire
- Utah's current measles outbreak started one year ago
- The Beehive State crowned its 100th Miss Utah this weekend
Utah had a surge of fires over the weekend, including evacuations
It was a busy weekend for Utah wildfires due to extreme heat and dry, windy conditions.
The biggest was a new fire near Eureka in Juab County, which grew to over 24,000 acres since Friday and is totally uncontained.
Thousands of Eureka residents have evacuated, though no homes have been lost yet. Officials said Santaquin residents do not need to evacuate.
Another fire is burning near Salt Lake’s Red Butte Canyon above the University of Utah Campus.
Firefighters initially warned residents in the Arlington Hill neighborhood to prepare in case evacuations were necessary, but lifted that warning Monday afternoon.
Fires also sparked over the weekend in Tooele and Weber Counties.
It’s been a year since Utah’s measles outbreak began
Saturday was the one-year anniversary of Utah’s current measles outbreak, and while spread has slowed, the fight is still ongoing.
In that year, health officials confirmed over 680 cases, with likely many more going under the radar.
The biggest hotspot has been in southwest Utah, but cases have been found across the state, with exposure locations ranging from hospitals to schools to sports meets.
The vast majority of cases have been in unvaccinated people.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, vaccination is the best protection against measles.
That's through two doses of either the MMR vaccine, which also protects against mumps and rubella, or the MMRV vaccine, which adds protection against varicella.
Here’s the winner of the 100th Miss Utah competition
The Beehive State crowned its 100th Miss Utah this weekend.
Over fifty contestants competed from across the state, but Nebo resident Erika Dalton took home the Centennial Crown. She heads a community service initiative focused on survivors of sexual violence.
Dalton received a $15,000 scholarship and will represent Utah at the upcoming Miss America competition.
In total, the Miss Utah Scholarship Organization awarded more than $80,000 in scholarships throughout the competition.
