Fifth generation Pine Valley resident focuses on community strength facing Forsyth Fire

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — As the Forsyth Fire continues to burn near Pine Valley, many residents are trying to stay positive, focusing on community strength and the hope of rebuilding. ABC4.com spoke to one resident with a family history in Pine Valley going back to the pioneers.

The Forsyth Fire has destroyed homes, land, and put years of pioneer history at risk. Mary Esther Putnam’s family has been in Pune Valley since the early 1860s.

“You count Robert Gardner is one. My grandfather, Hiram, is two. My father, Rex is three. Mine’s four. My son would be five. And his son, who’s your age, would be six. And he’s had his baby up there, so seven generations,” she said.

Mary hasn’t been able to see her home in person since the fire began. While her family’s properties were spared, she said that the heartbreak in the community is unmistakable.

“I know all those people who lost those homes,” she told ABC4.com. “No amount of money, no amount of clothes or anything is going to make up for what they have lost.”

The loss of homes in a place where neighbors feel more like family will leave a lasting mark, but even in the middle of the devastation, Mary pointed out a few signs of hope.

“I’ve thought I don’t want to drive by all that devastation, but as I was talking to a girlfriend who happened to be up there, she was reporting to me that it didn’t feel that awful,” she said. “We were just grateful that it wasn’t any worse. It looked like the water stream was still running through the culvert and the grass was still green, and there’s still hope.”

That hope, Mary says, is what’s keeping her and others going, knowing that Pine Valley still has life and beauty left to rebuild around.

“What if we drove down over the ridge and looked in and there was just black? Fortunately, that isn’t going to happen,” she said. “But anyway, it’s been quite a trip.”

For Mary and so many others in Pine Valley, this fire hasn’t just burned down homes and buildings, but it’s threatened so many generations of memories and history that has helped mold this town into what it is today.