SALT LAKE CITY — Scientists at Utah State University have identified a simple metric that could be used to measure and predict wildfire vulnerability. The study examined all wildfires in Utah between 1984 and 2021. Coupled with daily weather data, USU researchers were able to find a simple, yet reliable, predictor for the occurrence of wildfires. “By simplifying it to bare bones, we hope to make patterns easier to track, understand and act on,” Jim Lutz, a researcher with USU, said. According to the study, researchers compared “hot days,” when temperatures topped 80 degrees with almost 1,500 wildfires. The data led scientists to believe that hot days are a primary driver for how quickly dead logs, and other fuels, dry out. “Fire ecology is more complicated than daily weather, of course,” a USU press release said. “Fire patterns are influenced by drought, forest health and snowpack.”