That’s a reality for the roughly 1,200 people hoping to hunt the Monroe unit in Sevier and Piute counties, now scorched by the 61,500-acre Monroe Canyon Fire.

It’s the largest fire in Utah this year. As of Monday it was just 13% contained and, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, “the odds of us putting it out anytime soon are pretty low.”

The U.S. Forest Service issued a closure order last week, in effect until at least Oct. 31 and impacting most of the Richfield Ranger District of the Fishlake National Forest — that also restricts access to roughly 60% of the Monroe hunting unit.

Depending on fire behavior, the closure order could be rescinded before Oct. 31; however, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has several options for the roughly 1,200 hunters with general-season deer archery and muzzleloader, and limit-entry bull elk and black bear permits.

They can surrender their permit, get a refund, and allow the division to reinstate their bonus or preference points (the credit system that helps increase hunters’ chances of drawing big game permits over time).

They could also extend their hunt into the 2026 season.

Or, they could opt to simply hunt the remaining, open sections of the Monroe unit.

To qualify for the exemptions, hunters must contact the Division of Wildlife by at least the day before their hunt starts.

The division also has separate guidelines for the Dedicated Hunter program, which allows people to do volunteer work to earn credit for hunting permits. If the fire persists past the qualifying hunts, the division may extend the refund options to other hunts, including certain bull elk and deer permits.

For more information, visit the division’s website.

The closure is restricting access to roughly 67% of the mule deer habitat in the area, as well as 72% of the elk habitat, according to the division.

“We wanted to provide some relief options for hunters whose hunts would be severely impacted by the current wildlife and associated closures,” said Lindy Varney, licensing coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, in a statement. “While wildfires occur in Utah almost every summer and fall, this particular fire closed a significant portion of this hunting unit. And because the closure will be in effect past when the majority of the hunts are over, we wanted to offer some emergency options for hunters on this unit.”

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.