Forsyth fire passes 10,000 acres, Pine and Grass valley residents to return home

PINE VALLEY, Utah (ABC4) — The Forsyth Fire that forced three Utah communities to evacuate is now burning 10,673 acres and is 8% contained, according to latest information from the U.S. Forest Service – Dixie National Forest.

Evacuation orders will be downgraded starting 10 a.m. on Friday, June 27, and residents of Pine Valley, Grass Valley and Grey’s Ranch will be able to move back to their homes and visit their properties.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is requesting all non-residents and non-property owners to stay away from the area this weekend and give residents plenty of space to get back to their homes in the area.

A soft road closure will be in place on Pine Valley Road in Central, turning away all non-residents, officials confirmed Friday.

Warning levels for the town of Pinto, that has been on standby to be evacuated for nearly a week, has also been moved to a “Ready” status. This means crews will have to create a defensible space in the area around their homes in which vegetation, debris, and other combustible fuels have been removed to slow the spread of fire to and from the home.

According to Be Ready Utah, defensible space is essential to help protect a structure and create a safer area for firefighters during a wildland fire.

Being fire safe

By clearing brush, raising tree limbs, and removing combustible debris—fire officials say you are reducing fuel sources that could put your home at risk.

“In specific zones, based on how close it is to your house is where we want you to look at your zone and say, ‘Oh, that’s got a lot of debris. I need to clean that up.’ You’re looking at 12 to 15 feet out. You really just want to… clean it up, clear off the underbrush, you know, cut up your trees from the bottom so you’re not giving it a lot of stuff to burn,” Bridgette Butynski, Washington County Wildfire Specialist told ABC4.com.

According to the American Red Cross’ Wildfire safety guidelines, they urge residents to “take care of themselves.” They say it’s normal to have a lot of feelings but urge everyone to eat healthy food and get enough sleep that will help deal with stress.

You can also contact the Disaster Distress Helpline for free if you need to talk to someone at 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs’ to 66746.

Fighting the fire

Firefighters continue work along the fire’s perimeter south of Pine Valley, with an additional crew delivered by helicopter on Thursday, June 27. Officials say work in this area will continue in the coming days to secure the fire’s edge along the Saddle Fire burn scar.

Helicopters conducted bucket drops where there were crews on the ground to utilize the water and aviation resources will continue to engage with the fire as winds allow, according to Mike Johnston, Incident Commander of the Great Basin Complex Incident Management team 7, who is leading the fight against the Forsyth Fire.

Johnston adds that as temperatures continue to rise with storms are expected early next week, increased fire behavior is expected due to lack of moisture and high winds.