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SAN JUAN COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — The Babylon Fire, currently the largest wildfire in the United States, has grown to 106,324 acres, according to Utah Fire Info. The blaze is now 47% contained.

The wildfire is burning about 25 miles southwest of Monticello. Officials said five structures have been lost and 1,467 personnel are assigned.

Current operations

Firefighters are conducting an aggressive attack along the active fire edge, officials said, with a “specialized helitack crew” entering the Dark Canyon to secure the western edge into the bluffs. Crews in Trail Canyon continue to reinforce the fire line.

Fire personnel have reportedly secured containment lines off Steamboat Point and Dry Mesa.

A spot fire remains active on the north-facing slope of Jackson Ridge, officials said. Firefighters continue to protect a critical communication site on Abajo Peak.

Firefighters are using grass and brush on the south slope to keep the fire in heavy timber. Intense fire activity caused fire crews to pull back from Indian Creek, officials said. Complete containment from the southern line back to South Cottonwood is expected by the end of Sunday’s shift.

Firefighters assigned to the structure protection group on the Babylon Fire string hoses connected to a portable water tank along a dozer line west of Monticello, Utah, on July 11, 2026. (Courtesy: Geoff Liesik/U.S. Wildland Fire Service)

Upcoming weather, fire behavior

A critical shift is happening as monsoonal moisture moves in from the south. This will heighten the chance for critical fire weather conditions.

Temperatures will be slightly cooler and morning winds will be breezy, officials said, with some gusting along ridge tops. The main concern is forecasted scattered thunderstorms after noon, with dry storms bringing the potential for lightning and erratic, severe outflow winds.

See a current map of the Babylon Fire, as well as a smoke outlook, below.

Evacuations, closures

There are 23 evacuation zones in “SET” status at this time. This includes all zones west of Highway 191, south of State Route 211, and north of State Route 95.

All National Forest lands, roads, and trails within the Monticello Ranger District of the Manti–La Sal National Forest are closed. The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park is also closed to ensure public safety and aid firefighting operations.

All BLM-managed public lands west of Harts Draw Road and north through the Indian Creek Corridor to Indian Creek Falls are temporarily closed. This closure reportedly includes key recreation and backcountry areas like Shay Mesa, Beef Basin, Dark Canyon, and the Sweet Alice Wilderness Study Area.

“Anyone not directly involved in firefighting operations must stay out of all closure areas and avoid public lands within the boundary formed by State Route 211 to the north, U.S. Route 191 to the east, and State Route 95 to the south,” fire officials said. “These restrictions are in place to protect the public and allow firefighters to operate safely and effectively.”

Evacuation and closure information can be found on the Babylon Fire Inciweb page here.

This story is from an installment of The Oeno Files, our weekly insider newsletter to the world of fine wine. Sign up here.

While Washington State has become well known for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux-style blends in recent years, it is also home to many producers making outstanding Syrah. With just a 40-year history of cultivation in the state, Syrah is now the second most-produced red wine there as well as its best-kept secret. First planted in Washington in 1986, some early releases were treated like Cabernet Sauvignon with a lot of new oak and one-size-fits-all production method, but over time a broad spectrum of expressions has arisen among the state’s Syrahs.

Elsewhere in the U.S.A. it might seem like wineries are holding back the most exciting bottles for their neighbors, but Washington Syrah is more widely available than one might think, especially on restaurant tables. Landry’s Inc.—which operates more than 500 restaurants across the country including steakhouses such as Morton’s, Del Frisco’s, and the Palm—serves more than a dozen Washington Syrahs and a wide range of Syrah blends from the state. Scott Tarwater, corporate director of wine and special events, describes Washington Syrah as “a rugged, mountain man, unshaven, but worldly, down to earth, and plain spoken.” While he enjoys it for its savory character, he also likes that it is full of jammy notes such as boysenberry, black raspberry, and pomegranate alongside hints of ripened olives and pipe tobacco.

One of the drivers of quality in the last 20 years is the adoption of Old World techniques like stem inclusion and the use of concrete vessels, large‑format oak casks, and neutral oak barrels to let the fruit do the talking. Improved vineyard techniques have allowed for site expression to become clearer as well, with the Rocks District and Royal Slope showing savory and mineral characteristics, Red Mountain and Horse Heaven Hills bringing out more power and ripeness, and Yakima Valley showcasing a mix of the two styles.

Matt Reynvaan, founder and winemaker of R|A Family Wines, makes his JDA Project Syrah from a vineyard in the Rocks District that is defined by ancient riverbed soils layered with dense cobblestone. “These stones retain and radiate heat, lending intensity, structure, and unmistakable minerality to the fruit,” he explains. Replanted in 2020, the vineyard was designed with clonal diversity and precision farming practices tailored block by block. “Syrah is interplanted with small amounts of Viognier, and each section contributes a unique dimension, from power and structure to elegance and purity, resulting in a wine that is both complex and site driven,” Reynvaan says.

At Two Vintners, winemaker and partner Morgan Lee produces four different Syrahs including a Columbia Valley cuvée, a Rocks District bottling and single-vineyard expressions from Horse Heaven Hills and Yakima Valley, working with 13 distinct vineyards across six AVAs. “Each patch of dirt puts a stamp of individuality on the wine,” he says. “The beauty of Syrah is that it absorbs its surroundings like nothing else. It is a chameleon. It is so exciting to taste these individual parcels side by side and see how thrillingly different they are from one another.” Leaning heavily into a Northern Rhône style in his vineyard sourcing, Lee also employs Rhône techniques like native-yeast fermentation and whole-cluster pressing.

Washington’s first Syrah was planted in the Red Willow Vineyard in the foothills of the Cascades in the far northwest portion of the Yakima Valley by Mike Sauer in 1986, and winemaker Nick Bernstein utilizes fruit from that original block for DeLille Red Willow Syrah. “The Syrah here thrives on steep slopes of poor volcanic soils and creates powerful wine with deep concentration,” Bernstein says. In addition to that and DeLille’s Grand Ciel estate vineyard on Red Mountain, Bernstein also buys fruit from Boushey Vineyard, whose proprietor Dick Boushey has been a prominent grower for 45 years. This cooler site allows for more hang time, flavor development, and acid retention, leading to an earthier Syrah with dark fruit notes.

The wide diversity of Syrah can be seen in Liminal’s two offerings, High Canyon Syrah and Block 16 Syrah, which come from blocks in the WeatherEye Vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA that are about 500 yards apart but differ in aspect, elevation, and clonal selection. Liminal winemaker and partner Chris Peterson says the High Canyon block has elements of black fruits, minerals, and cured olive that remind him of Côte-Rôtie. “This is why we co-ferment with about 4 percent Viognier and choose the specific barrels to age it in and accentuate these aspects,” he explains. Meanwhile, the Block 16 exhibits the “wild herb, cured meats, and firm structure” characteristics that recall Cornas, so he ages it in 500-liter puncheons, with a style of new barrel “that shows off this more feral side.”

One of the newest additions to the Evergreen State scene is Dossier Wine Collective, whose head winemaker Billo Naravane crafts its flagship Syrah with an eye on the Northern Rhône, especially Côte-Rôtie and Cornas. Sourced from three vineyards, it offers the aromatic elegance and finesse of Côte-Rôtie alongside the structure, focus, and depth of Cornas. “Our use of concrete during fermentation is intentional. Concrete preserves purity and freshness while lending the wine a tighter, more focused profile, a hallmark we admire in many traditional Northern Rhône Syrahs,” Naravane says.

On the east coast, diners at JF Restaurant’s eateries can enjoy Syrah from Walla Walla and Columbia Valley. Beverage director and partner Amy Racine tells clients unfamiliar with the style that “Washington Syrah is a crossover between the States and Rhône Valley. It has a savory, peppery backbone similar to the northern Rhône and a ripe and juicy fruit you can find in the States.” Calling it “a category that rewards curiosity,” she tells Robb Report, “Most guests come in with a fixed idea of what Syrah is supposed to taste like, usually a Rhône reference point, and Washington Syrah surprises them by being a little familiar yet entirely its own thing.”

Do you want access to rare and outstanding reds from Napa Valley? Join the Robb Report 672 Wine Club today.