This is your daily news rundown for Tuesday, Aug. 11. In this edition:
- Utah health officials are urging families to vaccinate against measles as the school year starts
- British driver Andy Green broke another land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats
- The 2026 fire season has destroyed the most woodland and forest in Utah's history
As the school year starts, Utah health officials urge families to get vaccinated
With the school year fast approaching, Utah health officials are urging families to protect their children against measles.
The virus is more dangerous for young children, especially those who aren’t vaccinated. It can cause complications like pneumonia, brain swelling, and death.
That combined with its highly contagious nature means the school year could lead to an uptick in cases. Utah’s current measles outbreak increased more slowly over the summer, but it still has the second-highest number of cases in the country.
According to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, the best way to protect against measles is with two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, or MMR. You can also get two doses of the MMRV vaccine, which also protects against varicella.
Another land speed record was broken at the Bonneville Salt Flats
A British driver broke a land speed record at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats on Tuesday.
The flats’ low-friction surface and dry desert air have enticed drivers to push the limits of speed since the first race there over a century ago.
The latest record breaker was Andy Green, a 64-year-old retired Royal Air Force pilot who reached over 400 miles per hour in a hydrogen-powered car — double the previous world record for that vehicle category.
It’s far from Green’s only speed record. He set the overall land-speed record in 1997 at a whopping 763 miles per hour. He also holds the record for a diesel-powered car and is the only person to ever break the sound barrier in a car.
This fire season has been historically destructive in more ways than one
This year’s fire season has destroyed the most woodland and forest in Utah’s history.
Historically, the state’s largest wildfires have burned through grass and shrubs, known as rangeland fires.
But data released by University of Utah scientists last week found an increase in tree fires in Utah, especially in megadrought years.
Over the last four decades, seven fires have each burned more than 60,000 acres of woodland and forest in Utah. Three of those are burning right now — Babylon, Cottonwood, and Widemouth 2.
Woodland and forest combined cover about a quarter of Utah, providing critical wildlife habitat and holding soil in place.
It’s shaping up to be a historic season in other ways, too.
This year already set a record for the number of structures destroyed, and is likely to beat 2007’s record of over 650,000 total acreage burned. Currently, about 500,000 acres have burned.
