‘Please help not burn the state down’: How Utah hopes to fight this wildfire season's alarmingly early start

Julie Beekman and Sam Hubert walk in City Creek Canyon in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. Utah faces increased wildfire risk as 100% of the state is in drought with 90% in extreme drought. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Brian Steed noticed something interesting as he drove around Cedar City last week.

A median in the southern Utah community had green grass poking through in areas next to dried vegetation that seemed to have built up the last few years. For Steed, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, that sight was symbolic of Utah's current fire danger.

"Even if it looks green, it can still be very flammable," he said.

The state's extreme and exceptional drought conditions are part of the reason Utah's 2021 fire season is off to such a rough start. That and the rise of human-caused fires are why officials launched a new statewide public education campaign, "Fire Sense," aimed to help reduce the alarming number of wildfires that have happened even before the traditional fire season begins.

Gov. Spencer Cox and experts from multiple fire agencies joined Steed on Wednesday to unveil the program just before the Memorial Day weekend, which figures to bring many more people to the Utah’s drying outdoors landscapes. They hope the program will help people avoid the top causes of human-caused fires.

"Every human-caused wildfire is a wildfire that doesn't have to happen," the governor said, standing in front of a few firetrucks sporting new Fire Sense decals parked in City Creek Canyon. "As a state, we just can't afford to keep doing things the way we're doing when it comes to the outdoors and fire danger. ... The overwhelming majority of Utah wildfires are carelessly started and 100% preventable."

Where the 2021 fire season stacks up to other seasons

Experts believe 2021 has the potential to be one of the worst fire seasons in Utah's history. The pre-Memorial Day data shows exactly why they are alarmed.

There were already 227 wildfires that burned about 8,400 acres as of May, according to data provided to KSL.com by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fires and State Lands. The number of fires reported is up 164% from the same point in 2020 and well ahead of the previous five years. The next highest was 2018, which is when there were 184 fires through May 17.

KSL.com

The total acreage burned already this year is more than double the figures at this point in the season of the past five years combined, according to the state data. This year's average fire, through May 17, was 37 acres, which isn't particularly large for a wildfire but is also triple the average size of the fires through the same time period of the next highest average of the past five years — 11.3 acres per fire in 2018.

It's worth noting that 2018 wound up becoming one of Utah's worst fire seasons in recent history. Fires that year burned close to 500,000 acres, destroyed dozens of homes and led to numerous evacuations. Its largest fires emerged after Memorial Day.

"It's not unusual to get a 10-, 30-, 50-acre fire in some dormant brush; it is unheard of to get several fires of a couple hundred, up to a couple of thousand acres in March and April, and that's what we got," said Basil Newmerzhycky, a meteorologist for Great Basin Predictive Services.

Meanwhile, 96.5% of the fires reported through May 17 were determined to be human-caused. That continues a trend that's emerged in recent years. A record 78% of Utah's fires last year were caused by people, after the percentage of human-caused fires began to rise over the past decade. The most determined causes for such fires are equipment/vehicles, debris burning or campfires.

Experts say situation will 'get much worse'

What makes the 2021 fire season so different from the previous years is that the high fire danger has emerged much sooner. Utah typically doesn't experience droughts until the tail end of summer, and it also in the 22-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor hasn't had exceptional drought conditions covering an area as vast as it currently does, Newmerzhycky said.

"To have this in the spring is truly exceptional because it's going to get much worse before it gets better," he said.

Experts say Utah has gone through a "bit of a reprieve" the past couple of weeks because of the snowpack and the "green-up" along the foothills. Newmerzhycky pointed to the foothills in front of him and said that while that's been nice, the "green-up" across the state has been below normal, especially in southern Utah, and is expected to end very soon.

"The fuels that we measure — how dry it is to be conducive to wildfire — they are already at mid-to-late June levels," Newmerzhycky said. "The rain and the moisture that we received last week has bought us a couple of days, but starting next week probably we're going to be full-on into it."

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

June is typically among the worst months for wildfires but conditions are expected to be much worse this year. It doesn't help that summer is traditionally the driest season for northern Utah.

Monsoons traditionally develop in southern Utah beginning in July but it's still unclear if those will develop this year after they were mostly absent in 2020. If those return, southern Utah's fire danger could ease up by August; however, Newmerzhycky said meteorologists are starting to become less optimistic that monsoons will be as prolific as they were originally thought.

"Even if it's a below-average monsoon, it should buy us enough to moisten up the fuels in the southern half of the state," he said. "But here in the north, north of Highway 50 along the west of the Wasatch, it's still expected to be critically dry (in August)."

If Utah's fire season does end up as bad as 2018's or worse, it would be costly. Cox said that state and federal governments could end up spending "hundreds of millions of dollars" in fire suppression costs if it gets as bad as feared.

A plea for those heading outdoors this summer

Weather is the main variable that officials can't control when it comes to the fire season. But what can be controlled is how people interact with the outdoors.

Queue "Fire Sense" and more public awareness about the ways that human-caused fires begin. Steed said Utahns will start to see ads about the program on billboards, social media, websites and more places.

"We chose 'Fire Sense' because it's a lot like common sense — that it doesn't take that much to do a little bit more to prevent a catastrophic wildfire," he said.

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Officials believe there is likely some tie between the growth in the popularity of outdoor recreation and the spike in the percentage of human-caused fires. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources released data in March that showed a spike in new people receiving hunting and fishing permits, and other state-collected data showed growth in people exploring the outdoors more for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That inexperience could lead to actions that may result in a fire.

The other theory for the rise in human-caused fires is that Utah's population is growing, and that's leading to more chances for human-caused fires.

"All of us can do better when it comes to fire sense," Steed said.

The governor said he hopes that an education campaign will help reduce fires in Utah but that may not be enough. He said the state will look to enforce laws around controlled burns and fireworks more strictly this year.

"We're going to have to have more enforcement this year," he said. "It's so dangerous out there right now. We just have to do that. People have to follow the law and be careful."

A handful of new fire restrictions in southwest Utah were announced Monday, including a ban on campfires at Zion National Park, which went into effect earlier Wednesday. That's likely just the beginning of restrictions that will be put in place if conditions don't improve.

Whether it's avoiding activities that could cause a fire or avoiding breaking the law, state officials used Wednesday's event to make a plea to residents to do what they can to prevent wildfires.

"We live in a remarkable state. It's beautiful, so please, Utah, take these precautions seriously," Steed said. "We are all in this together. Utah is tinder-dry right now. We don't predict that's going to get better. Please help not burn the state down."

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COVID-19 may be on the way out, but is West Nile on the way in?

Salt Lake Mosquito Abatement District’s Nick Hill, left, and Jonah Willis talk with operations supervisor Jason Hardman as they determine where they need to spread mosquito insecticide in the wetlands north and west of Salt Lake City on Friday, May 28, 2021. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

West Nile virus concerns rise as double the expected mosquitoes hatch

With COVID-19 apparently finally on the outswing, Utahns may be breathing a sigh of relief for a freer summer season, but health officials warn that vigilance is still required for another virus: West Nile.

Experts are concerned, as more than double the expected number of mosquitoes hatched north of Salt Lake City this May. A recent survey by the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District measured 960 mosquitoes in the rural zone — a sharp deviation from the 400 expected from an average of the last five years.

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Mosquitoes are sorted by type at the Salt Lake Mosquito Abatement District laboratory in Salt Lake City on Thursday, May 27, 2021.

This sharp increase is likely due to the melting snow from mountains around the Salt Lake Valley that is trickling down into marshier areas at their base. The water stays there, impounded and stagnant, and becomes a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes as temperatures warm.

The industrial surveillance zone, housed between Salt Lake City International Airport and state Route 201, also saw a 75% increase in mosquitoes over the average. Any of these mosquitoes could be carrying West Nile virus, and the only way the Department of Health can tell this is through population surveillance and testing.

Unlike last year, when COVID-19 complicated the process of testing for West Nile in mosquitoes, testing is anticipated to continue as usual throughout the summer, as more broods hatch and more of the department’s employees get vaccinated.

As of Thursday’s West Nile testing update, no cases have been reported in mosquito pools or in humans.

“We don’t want people stressing out and staying indoors all summer,” said Hannah Rettler, zoologist and vector-borne epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health. “We just want people to be aware of mosquito areas. It’s about knowing what your risk is and knowing how to protect yourself. Then there’s no need to sit and actively worry.”

This year vs. last

Though West Nile only infected two Utahns in 2020, Ary Faraji, executive director of the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District, said that due to the nature of both West Nile virus and the mosquitoes that carry it, one year of few cases means little for the next year.

“A lot of these viruses are cyclical in nature,” Faraji said. “Some years may have a lot of positive cases, and in some years, by natural ecological cycles or intervention, we see reduced activity. But these pathogens are never going away.”

In fact, the cyclical tendency of the disease is one of the main reasons it seems to be “forgotten” come summer. Residents may remember a slew of good years, trek out into nature as the temperature rises, and keep mosquitoes in the back of their mind until they’re faced with one, Faraji said. By then, it’s too late to go back and grab repellent, and one bite can be enough for a potentially dangerous infection.

West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, but the disease itself isn’t in a state to infect most humans right now. It has to be maintained between bird-biting mosquitoes and birds; an infected mosquito bites a bird, which amplifies the disease, and then another noninfected mosquito contracts the amplified disease from that same bird, amplifying it again in turn. This positive feedback loop means that it will take a few months before the virus builds up in mosquito pools. According to Faraji, we likely won’t see infected pools until the end of June.

This isn’t to say that the virus cannot be circulated before then, however, especially in high-risk groups. The point of testing in the early months of May is to see the field infection rate of transmission, or how fast the disease is spread among mosquitoes. If they reach a threshold of infected pools of mosquitoes, the abatement districts will need to increase control efforts to stop transmission. These efforts can include setting traps, managing water drainage systems to remove standing water, and physical screens on rain barrels to control the amount of larvae and pupae gestating in them.

What’s the harm?

Unlike the novel coronavirus, there is no vaccine to prevent West Nile virus, nor are there medications designed to pinpoint the disease itself. Some symptoms of the infection, like a fever or headache, can be treated with bedrest, intake of fluid, and over-the-counter pain relievers.

However, about 1 out of 150 infected people develop serious symptoms, which can include muscle weakness, convulsions, vision loss, numbness and death. Individuals above 50 are at greater risk, along with those who have certain medical conditions or have received organ transplants.

“We may experience reduced transmission or reduced cases,” Faraji said. “But because of the fact that it’s still out there, we need to be vigilant, have an established control program, and educate the public on what they can do to reduce personal risk.”

Tips for avoiding mosquito bites and potential exposure to West Nile virus:

• Avoid areas with high mosquito sightings. If you’re planning an outing during dawn or dusk, check the mosquito surveillance map and see if your location is at risk.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, and apply a repellent approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to exposed areas of skin, especially during dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are more likely to bite.
• Run a pump on your private swimming pool or pond. If you do not have a pump, call your local mosquito abatement district, which can provide pumps and mosquito-eating fish to naturally reduce the population.
• If you have a bird bath, dump out its water at least every five days.
• Fix your screen door if you see a tear or puncture.
• Put containers that accumulate water through rain or a sprinkler system inside, especially during peak mosquito hours.
• Report bodies of stagnant water in your neighborhood to a local mosquito abatement district.

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Live coverage: Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies play in pivotal Game 3

Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley (10) has a few words for Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks (24) after Brooks was blocked by Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) as the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies play Game 2 of their NBA playoffs first round series at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Utah won 141-129. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

With their first round NBA playoff series tied at a game apiece, the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies have shifted to Memphis for Saturday’s pivotal Game 3 at FedEx Forum.

The No. 8-seed Grizzlies took Game 1 before the No. 1-seed Jazz rebounded to win Game 2, both of which were played in Salt Lake City.

Utah is hoping to have another strong shooting night on Saturday like it did in Game 2 as opposed to the struggles it had in Game 1. Memphis, meanwhile, lost some of the physicality in Game 2 that was crucial in its Game 1 victory.

Tip time Saturday is set for 7:30 p.m. MDT, and the game will air on ESPN. Follow along here for in-game updates and observations.

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High school baseball: American Fork puts punctuation mark on dominant 2021 season by winning 6A state championship

The American Fork Cavemen celebrate during Game 2 of the 6A baseball championship against the Pleasant Grove Vikings at UCCU Ballpark in Orem on Saturday, May 29, 2021. The Cavemen won 8-0. | Annie Barker, Deseret News

American Fork’s sweep of rival Pleasant Grove in 6A championship series clinches 10th state title in school history as the Cavemen finished 2021 with a 30-1 record

Box Score

Knowing the likelihood of recency bias, coach Jared Ingersoll wasn’t about to answer whether this year’s American Fork team is his best ever.

He’s had some good ones, and inevitably would’ve been slammed with messages from former players if he declared the 2021 team his best ever. However, with the way this year’s team dominated from start to finish, how could it not be considered the best in school history?

The Cavemen polished off a near-perfect season on Saturday afternoon at UVU beating rival Pleasant Grove 8-0 in Game 2 of the 6A state championship series to claim the school’s first state title since 2016 and 10th in school history.

“Definitely special,” admitted Ingersoll.

He coached American Fork to states titles in 2012 and 2016, but neither of those teams can hold a candle to the 2021 team’s 30-1 record. The 2012 team went 25-6 and the 2016 team went 24-8.

In fact, there’s only been one other state champion in Utah’s largest classification to lose just once: Taylorsville in 2002 (25-1).

“That’s pretty remarkable considering the teams we’ve played,” said Ingersoll. “Every game that we’ve had this year has been different guys stepping up at different moments. Our lineup was deep and talented.”

In Game 1 on Friday night it took American Fork a few innings to settle in on its way to the 9-6 victory. In Game 2, it effectively put the game away with a five-run second inning for the early 6-0 lead.

With the way junior Kaden Carpenter was pitching, those six runs were more than enough for American Fork to put the game into cruise control in front of large contingent of red-clad fans.

“Kaden is a great baseball player and he’s got a bright future. I think he learned from his previous experience this week and just got up there and was just solid for us. When I saw him on the bus, I knew he was locked in,” said Ingersoll.

Carpenter struck out eight and only allowed five hits while shutting out Pleasant Grove’s potent lineup for all seven innings. About the only mistake he realistically made was a throwing error on a pickoff attempt at first in the first inning. That allowed the Vikings’ leadoff hitter Kyler Lester to advance all the way to third base with no out.

That’s where Lester was stranded though as Carpenter retired the next three batters.

In the second and fifth innings Carpenter walked the leadoff batter, but got out of a potential jam each time with an inning-ending double play.

“In my opinion we have the best defense in the state and for me to be able to throw to contact and trust our guys, that was the key,” said Carpenter.

When Carpenter got the last batter to fly out to right field, he was mobbed by teammates and ended up at the bottom of the celebratory dog pile at the mound. He said there’s no better feeling.

“I’m on cloud nine. To spend one last game on the field with my brothers, there’s no better feeling,” said Carpenter.

At the plate, the production came throughout the lineup as eight of the nine batters in the lineup recorded a base hit. Fisher Ingersoll provided the biggest hits yet again.

American Fork’s No. 2 hitter bounced a solo home run off the top of left-center field fence in the first inning giving his team the early 1-0 lead.

When he came to bat again in the second inning, American Fork had already scored three times and led 4-0. With a runner at second and two outs, Pleasant Grove elected to pitch to the red-hot Ingersoll, who punished the decision by smashing the ball over the left field fence to extend the lead to 6-0.

“Had a tough game yesterday. We felt like we could’ve played better, and we wanted to leave no doubt today and that’s what we came and did and it was awesome,” said Ingersoll.

In the junior shortstop’s other two at bats, he reached base on a walk and hit batter raising his on-base percentage in the five games this week at UVU to .894 (17 of 19). He finished those five games going 12 of 14 with two home runs and 10 RBIs.

“It was just trusting our approach through the whole time. We have a great staff here and they dialed it in for us just to come in with our approach and do what we do,” said Ingersoll.

Asked if he’s ever had a stretch of games where he’s felt more comfortable at the plate than he did this week, Ingersoll said with a smile on his face, “probably not.”

American Fork added two runs in the fifth inning on a bases loaded walk and then double play. That double play helped Pleasant Grove avoid the 10-run mercy rule.

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Beach days, barbecues, jury duty? You may be summoned this summer as trials pick back up

As COVID-19 case rates decline and more people get vaccinated, Utah’s courts are scheduling more jury trials.  | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

Visiting family, meeting friends for dinner or just stepping out in public without having to worry — many Utahns are making the most of a less-fraught reality as the pandemic loosens its grip.

But the ability to gather more freely also may come with an added measure of civic responsibility as the state's court system intensifies a push to work through a backlog of cases.

As COVID-19 case rates decline and more people get vaccinated, Utah's courts are scheduling more jury trials. With a $1 million boost from the Utah Legislature, they're also beefing up the staffing to churn through a big pile of 350 civil and criminal cases throughout the state, said Michael Drechsel, assistant state court administrator.

Roughly 50% to 60% of trials take place in Salt Lake County, so courthouses there are responsible for clearing about half of that backlog, 3rd District Judge Todd Shaughnessy told colleagues on the Utah Judicial Council on Monday. He encouraged fellow judges to fill their calendars with more trials in the weeks ahead, with the understanding that some existing restrictions — like rapid testing for everyone in the courtroom — are likely to go away.

Additionally, he said, most of the cases never get to trial. They tend to resolve ahead of time in plea deals.

The tentative moves are based on the thinking that if current trends continue, the state will open up for more types of in-person proceedings. In one step toward more relaxed rules, the courts on Monday lifted a mask mandate for those who are fully vaccinated.

The $1 million in federal relief money will cover the cost of bringing on semi-retired judges to help the state's existing 77 district court judges handle an extra 380 days worth of work tied to the backlog, Drechsel said. The financial boost will also help cover costs of hiring clerks to help with virtual jury selection ahead of trial, along with other sorts of proceedings.

Since January, the courts have allowed a limited number of jury trials with extra precautions as part of a pilot program. The districts participating include Shaughnessy's 3rd, eastern Utah's 8th, northern Utah's 2nd and the 4th, which consists of Utah County and neighboring counties.

When the pandemic first gripped the state, the Utah Supreme Court prohibited courthouses from holding trials in person unless the county's rate of COVID-19 transmission dips to levels that don't threaten to overwhelm hospitals. Defense attorneys and prosecutors in Utah have resisted participating in a trial over video, citing concerns that a virtual verdict would prove vulnerable to appeals.

Judges have held the experimental trials in the state's biggest courtrooms, with jurors and attorneys in masks. They have allowed potential jurors to avoid serving on the panel if they or those they live with are vulnerable to the virus.

State health officials have said it's no longer necessary for witnesses to testify from inside a clear box connected to a powerful air filter, state courts administrator Mary Noonan told the council. The rule has been in place so that a person on the stand can remain bare-faced, in order for jurors and the parties to better assess physical cues.

Now a witness will be able to sit behind a single pane of plexiglass, a change that will make it easier to hold trials in more courtrooms because they don't need to be retrofitted with the box. The new guidance is "an incredible green light," Noonan said.

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Why return of Alex Barcello to BYU as a super senior is gold for Mark Pope

Brigham Young Cougars guard Alex Barcello (13) moves with the ball during a game against the Saint Mary’s Gaels in Provo on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. Barcello announced he will return to play for the Cougars next season. | Annie Barker, Deseret News

All-American Alex Barcello’s return to BYU changes dynamics of program

Alex Barcello’s return to BYU for another year is like NASA finding a recyclable booster.

It saves Mark Pope time and energy finding a leader.

It instantly injects a playmaker into his offense.

It allows BYU basketball to train, educate and groom a point guard while continuing to recruit that position.

It gives Pope another year while he waits for players on missions, guys like former Wasatch Academy guard Richie Saunders. He can now insert freshman redshirt Hunter Erickson into minutes that shape his future use as a combo guard and give returning missionary Trey Stewart time to adjust.

It gives Pope a free scholarship player since as a super senior, Barcello doesn’t count on his 13 scholarship limit. That’s playing with house money.

It allows Pope to put two veteran backcourt talents on the floor at the same time with recent signee Milwaukee senior transfer Te’Jon Lucas picking up pointers from Barcello.

It allows Pope to have a veteran around who has been on WCC road trips, played at St. Mary’s and Gonzaga, and actually has experience beating the Zags.

It gives BYU basketball an alpha dog, a confident, hungry, zeroed-in weapon who won’t back down.

In other words, Pope gets back one of the most accurate 2-point shooters in school history, the only player to have made seven consecutive 3s in a game, a finisher and a great midrange shooter.

Yeah, he can find a place for him.

Pope’s showmanship on Friday, creating an almost circuslike atmosphere at the program’s annual Fathers and Sons camp, was, well, over the top.

With an audience chanting “one more year” over and over again as Barcello made his announcement, it was milked drama, as staged as an elaborate puppet show.

But can you blame him for creating a barrel of love for Barcello?

Think of the alternative without Barcello coming back.

Pope would have had a season of guessing games, would have had to slow things down in practices and endure even greater growing pains. He’d have had to be more careful in games not to overstretch the squad with leadership waiting to surface.

Think of the chemistry built in with Caleb Lohner, Spencer Johnson, Gavin Baxter, Richard Harward, Gideon George and Trevin Knell.

Now, with Barcello back, Pope is, as they say here out West, packing.

At BYU, Pope has never won a game without Barcello. He just may be one of his biggest recruits when he got him to transfer from Arizona.

Pope put it this way to media folks on Friday:

“Only three other teams have an All-American coming back into their program. What he does in the locker room and his leadership is so incredible. He believes he can keep getting better and really make a push at his dream of being an NBA basketball player. He has a sense for how hard that is. I think it’s a huge thing for our program. I’ve never won a game, coaching at BYU, without Alex Barcello. I would like to not have to try for another year. So I’m super excited about that.”

All that is an understatement by Pope.

Alex Barcello on his decision to come back to @BYUMBB for one more year: “It’s a surreal feeling.”#BYU #BYUHoops @kslsports pic.twitter.com/P583Hj4dW3

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) May 29, 2021

Barcello is a one-more-season lifeline for Pope to continue to mine the transfer portal for answers in a program that is continually trying to fill in for its sign-and-go missionary model.

I’d say Barcello is the difference in five to seven games for BYU this coming season, easy.

And that could make the difference between going to the Big Dance and finding some other postseason distraction to keep things going in March.

On Friday, Pope got another few miles out of Barcello who made a one-take recruiting video for BYU basketball in front of cameras, extolling his experience at the program, praising his teammates and coaches.

On a personal and professional note, it has been remarkable seeing the development of Barcello the past two years. He came from Arizona a broken spirit. Now he’s a Captain America kind of force on the court.

At his side was his fiancee Zoe Simpson, a recent graduate from the University of Arizona. Let’s not discount the influence she had on this decision. The couple will marry after the basketball season.

You can’t tell me Zoe didn’t have input in the decision to have her future husband play another year in the United States with comfy surroundings and familiar culture as opposed to placing the near future in a traveling nomad life in Europe, trying to get a break and a look at the NBA while easing into the first year of marriage.

That first year is always the toughest, right?

That’s what people say.

This is a good move for everyone concerned. Barcello gets a launching pad to continue to hone his game and Pope gets a bonafide stud star to take the reins of what he wants to get done.

Winners all around.

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The top companies you’ll find on TikTok

A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo. Which companies are TikTok users talking about? Here’s a rundown. | Associated Press

Which companies are TikTok users talking about? Here’s a rundown

TikTok has become a social media platform where young people talk about culture, entertainment, life advice and ... business tips.

Research by money.co.uk identified which companies are popular among “Stockfluencers” — TikTok users who share investment advice on financial planning and the stock market.

The research examined popular brands on the social media app. The information “reveals which companies are gaining the most views, and features such giants as Tesla, Apple and Amazon,” according to money.co.uk.

Here are the top 15 companies listed:

1. Tesla
2. AMC
3. Gamestop
4. Nio
5. Disney
6. Amazon
7. Palantir Technologies
8. Twitter
9. AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc
10. Snapchat
11. Sundial Growers
12. Nikola Corporation
13. Zoom
14. Apple
15. Facebook

Indeed, TikTok has been a home for financial advice. In July 2020, TikTok users encouraged people to buy parts of the meme-based cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.

TikTok user James Galante made a TikTok video where he encouraged people to spend $25 on Dogecoin — which was worth $0.0023 at the time — to make some money. That video alone spawned 1 million views and led to even more videos on the subject, as the Deseret News reported.

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