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Wasatch Mountain State Park cancels apple harvest after spring freeze

Wasatch Mountain State Park cancels apple harvest after spring freeze

Built World Salt Lake City, UT local

Historic Huber Grove orchard loses most of its crop after a warm winter and late frosts.

Today: Apple harvest cancellation becomes public news

Overview

Updated 45 minutes ago

The apple harvest at Wasatch Mountain State Park's Huber Grove is off this year. The orchard's roughly 80 trees, some dating to the late 1800s, produced only a few hundred apples instead of thousands, so the park canceled its annual picking event.

The cause was a weather sequence, not a single storm. A record-warm winter and warm March pushed trees to bloom early; freezing nights in April and May killed the blossoms. State officials reported 95% to 100% losses across apricots, cherries, plums, peaches, pears, and apples, and Governor Spencer Cox declared an emergency in 10 counties.

Why it matters

Utah's 2026 fruit crop was nearly wiped out by a late freeze, canceling harvest events and cutting orchard income.

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Key Indicators

95%–100%
Reported crop loss for Utah fruit growers
State officials reported near-total losses for apricots, cherries, plums, peaches, pears, and apples.
10
Counties covered by Utah's emergency declaration
Governor Spencer Cox declared a state of emergency in May 2026.
80
Apple trees at Huber Grove
Half date to the orchard's founding in the late 1800s; only five or six had any apples this year.
150
Picking groups in a normal year
The park says at least 150 groups can fill a bushel during a good harvest.

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

January 2026 September 2026

6 events Latest: Today
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. Apple harvest cancellation becomes public news

    Today News

    KSL reports the cancellation; only five or six of the orchard's 80 trees have any apples.

  2. Park cancels Huber Grove apple harvest

    Event Cancellation

    Wasatch Mountain State Park says the orchard has too few apples for its annual picking event.

  3. Cox declares state of emergency

    Government

    Cox issues an emergency order for 10 counties after reported fruit losses of 95% to 100%.

  4. Late freezes kill blossoms and young fruit

    Weather

    Multiple nights of freezing temperatures in April and May damage orchards across Utah.

  5. Exceptionally warm March accelerates tree growth

    Weather

    Unusually high March temperatures push buds out ahead of the normal schedule.

  6. Record-warm winter sets up early growth

    Weather

    A warm winter and record-low snowpack leave fruit trees primed to bloom early.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

April 2007

April 2007 Easter freeze

After an unusually warm March, a hard freeze struck the eastern United States from April 6 to April 9. It damaged peach, apple, and berry crops across at least a dozen states.

Then

Farmers reported heavy losses, especially in Georgia and South Carolina peach orchards.

Now

The event became a reference point for late-spring freeze risk after warm early springs.

Why this matters now

It shows the same warm-then-cold pattern that wiped out Utah's 2026 fruit crop.

March-April 2012

2012 Michigan fruit crop failure

Record March warmth caused Michigan fruit trees to bloom about three weeks early. A series of April freezes then killed blossoms across the state.

Then

Michigan's tart cherry crop was nearly destroyed, and apple growers also reported major losses.

Now

The episode pushed some growers toward crop insurance and frost-mitigation methods.

Why this matters now

It is a modern example of a single weather swing ending an entire season for fruit growers.

Sources

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