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Chinook helicopter dropping flame retardant over a wildfire

Important: Emails have been sent to affected hunters with information about their available relief options. We will continue to monitor public access and habitat conditions throughout the fire season. We may offer additional fire-relief options for hunts occurring later this fall, if conditions warrant.

Wildfires and Utah's 2026 hunting seasons

Chinook helicopter dropping flame retardant over a wildfire

Updated: Aug. 24, 2026

Utah is experiencing an early and very active fire season, and we know many hunters have questions about how wildfires may affect their hunts this fall.

After evaluating public access and the impacts of the fires on habitat for deer, elk, black bears and mountain goats, the DWR has approved relief for the following hunts:

Beaver unit (Cottonwood Fire)

  • Limited-entry black bear (BR7200) — Aug. 1–31 and Nov. 2–8, 2026
  • Once-in-a-lifetime mountain goat (GO6800) — Sept. 5–27, 2026

Beaver, East unit (Cottonwood Fire)

  • Limited-entry bull elk, archery (EB3000) — Aug. 15–Sept. 15, 2026
  • General-season buck deer, archery (DB1611) — Aug. 15–Sept. 11, 2026
  • Limited-entry bull elk, multiseason (EB3102) — see the Utah Hunt Planner for archery, muzzleloader and any-legal-weapon season dates

San Juan unit (Babylon Fire)

  • Restricted pursuit black bear (BR1010) — July 6–16, 2026
  • Restricted pursuit black bear (BR1013) — July 18–31, 2026
  • Limited-entry black bear (BR7217) — Aug. 1–31 and Nov. 2–8, 2026

San Juan Bull Elk unit (Babylon Fire)

  • Limited-entry bull elk, archery (EB3019) — Aug. 15–Sept. 15, 2026
  • Limited-entry bull elk, multiseason (EB3121) — see the Utah Hunt Planner for archery, muzzleloader and any-legal-weapon season dates

San Juan, Elk Ridge unit (Babylon Fire)

  • Limited-entry buck deer, archery (DB1014) — Aug. 15–Sept. 11, 2026
  • Limited-entry buck deer, multiseason (DB1046) — see the Utah Hunt Planner for archery, muzzleloader and any-legal-weapon season dates
  • Limited-entry buck deer, muzzleloader (DB1037) — Sept. 23–Oct. 1, 2026

San Juan, Abajo Mtns unit (Babylon Fire)

  • General-season buck deer, archery (DB1521) — Aug. 15–Sept. 11, 2026

Fillmore unit (Widemouth 2 Fire)

  • General-season buck deer, archery (DB1506) — Aug. 15–Sept. 11, 2026
  • General-season buck deer, muzzleloader (DB1566) — Sept. 23–Oct. 1, 2026

Fillmore, Pahvant unit (Widemouth 2 Fire)

  • Limited-entry bull elk, archery (EB3008) — Aug. 15–Sept. 15, 2026
  • Limited-entry bull elk, early any legal weapon (EB3042) — Sept. 16–Sept. 20, 2026
  • Limited-entry bull elk, muzzleloader (EB3086) — Sept. 21–Oct. 2, 2026
  • Limited-entry black bear (BR7207) — Aug. 1–31 and Nov. 2–8, 2026

Emails have been sent to affected hunters with information about their available relief options.

The DWR will continue to monitor public access and habitat conditions throughout the fire season. Additional relief may be considered for hunts occurring later this fall, if conditions warrant.

Relief for natural disasters affecting a hunting unit

Relief for an entire hunting unit may be authorized only by the DWR director and only when both of the following conditions are met:

  • More than 50% of hunting opportunities within the unit are unavailable.
  • Access to more than 50% of the public land within the unit is closed through state or federal administrative action.

Additional options

If you don't want to wait for a decision about what will happen with your hunting unit, you always have the option to surrender your permit 30 days (or more) before your hunt begins, with the following conditions:

  • Limited-entry and once-in-a-lifetime permit holders: If you surrender a permit 30 days or more before the hunt starts, you are eligible for the reinstatement of any points you've accrued in the past, but you will not accrue a bonus point for this year. You are also eligible for a refund, minus a $25.00 processing fee.
  • General-season permit holders: If you surrender a permit 30 days or more before the hunt starts, you are eligible for the reinstatement of any points you've accrued in the past, but you will not accrue a preference point for this year. General-season permits are not eligible for a refund. For all rules and details for surrendering a permit, please visit wildlife.utah.gov/refunds.

We appreciate your patience as we continue to monitor this dynamic situation statewide. We will provide additional fire updates when we have more information or if there are decisions about specific hunting units.

Common questions

We've received a few questions from hunters about the fire-relief options that have been granted so far. Here are some of those questions and answers:

We understand there's been some frustration about this decision. With that said, the Dedicated Hunter Program is a multiyear program that allows multiple seasons of hunting each year. We anticipate that there will be opportunities and access for dedicated hunters on these units this year — and in their remaining years of the program. (We are already seeing more roads and access points opening up across all three units.) Reinstating points, issuing refunds or extending permits to next year could be quite complex — and potentially unfair — due to the nature of the program, harvest numbers and hours already completed.

Generally, once a permit is surrendered, it cannot be returned. Exceptions are very rare, and typically only apply if the permit reissuance is processed alongside an approved refund (before the surrender is finalized).

We will continue to monitor public access and habitat conditions throughout the hunting season. Additional relief may be considered for hunts occurring later this fall, if conditions warrant and it falls within the criteria that allowed the division director to approve relief.