Forsyth Fire destroys 14 Pine Valley homes, expands up to 5660 acres

SALT LAKE CITY — The Forsyth Fire had grown to 5660 acres Sunday afternoon and had destroyed 14 homes by Saturday, according to information from the National Weather Service and Utah Fire Info.

By Sunday afternoon, the fire was reportedly still 0% contained. The fire was believed to have started naturally.

Sunday update

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox held a press conference Sunday afternoon where smoke from the Forsyth Fire could be seen behind him, noting the solidarity the impacted community had for each other and for its firefighters.

“It’s been a really rough few days for our friends here in Pine Valley and for our friends here in Washington County,” Cox said.

Cox thanked county commissioners, along with fire crews, who he said had been “working tirelessly,” stating they had not slept in multiple days.

“This is a tragedy, obviously,” Cox said. 

On Sunday afternoon, Cox said multiple homes had been lost in total, but nobody had been injured or killed. Cox urged those in areas where evacuation orders are in place to listen to fire officials.

“I don’t want any of our firefighters losing their life trying to save your life,” Cox said.

Cox mentioned the France Canyon Fire, which as of Sunday had scorched over 15,000 acres. Cox compared this year’s fire season to that of 2012-2013 due to similar drought conditions.

Cox also noted that the Pine Valley Chapel, the oldest standing chapel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was spared. The building was first constructed in 1886, according to The Church’s website.

On Sunday morning, the Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 7 reportedly assumed command of the fire at approximately 7 a.m.

The transfer of command was paired with a meeting with the Type 3 Incident Management Team from the Dixie National Forest to “gain a clear understanding of the incident’s progression over the past three days,” according to a release.

Suppressing the Forsyth Fire would be a coordinated effort among the Dixie National Forest, the State of Utah Forestry, Fire and State Lands, and local officials, according to a release.

Fire officials said no more donations were needed as of Sunday.

“Both the Pine Valley community and fire crews are deeply appreciative of the generous donations being provided during this time,” fire officials said in a release. “While we are truly grateful for the support and generous donations, we kindly ask that no additional supplies be donated at this time.” 

Saturday update

By Saturday morning, the National Forest Service told KSL TV that the Forsyth Fire had grown to 1640 acres and destroyed 14 homes and four outbuildings, although some sources suggested that as many as 17 homes were burned.

Utah Fire Info announced that evacuations had expanded after 7 p.m., and the communities of Pinto and Grass Valley, in Washington County, were under threat.

“Extreme Fire behavior and gusty erratic winds have pushed the fire east and north of Pine Valley. The fire has pushed over a mile north and up over the next ridge, north of Pine Valley. Pinto and Grass Valley communities are advised to evacuate,” Utah Fire Info said on Facebook.

“I spent a good portion of the day in Pine Valley. I saw hundreds of first responders keeping the town safe. Unfortunately, the winds changed quickly, which resulted in 17 homes being destroyed. The firefighters were shocked,” Sheriff Nate Brooksby with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. “They had busted their butts for two days with, maybe two hours of sleep to protect the community.”

Brooksby continued by talking about how hard the loss was on firefighters.

“They lost structures. That is the worst of the worst in their world,” Brooksby said. “I could see it in their eyes. They gave it all they had, and still lost to mother nature. I appreciate their efforts, and will support them with everything we have until the firestorm is calm.”

According to Washington County Sheriff’s Office, those who are worried about their home in the Mountain View/Meadow View subdivision area can call 435-634-5730.

“Leave your contact information (name, phone number, and property address) and we will get a Deputy to call you and let you know if your home was lost to the fire,” the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office also asked people not to bring anything to the Pine Valley Fire Station at this time.

Community support pours in

Amidst the destruction, community and hope persist in Pine Valley.

“We’re working together to help each other get through this, and we will,” said Pine Valley resident Leslie Wastlund.

Wastlund, like hundreds of others forced to evacuate, wondered Saturday if she’d have a home to return to.

“The homes being engulfed, and you’re afraid for all the firefighters and you just have constant prayers going,” she said.

But even in the middle of all this devastation, there’s hope — and it’s showing up car after car after car.

Sgt. Lucas Alfred with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was impressed by all the community support for those putting themselves in harm’s way to put out the Forsyth Fire. Some of that support was even coming from Pine Valley residents, whose homes were still in danger Saturday afternoon.

When the word went out on social media that firefighters needed water, food and snacks, people kept showing up with enough donations to show just how much they appreciated the job being done.

Pine Valley has always been the kind of community where neighbors help neighbors. And with the fire still burning, that help will be as needed as ever.

“Somebody up there has a plaque on their home that says, ‘closest to heaven as you’re going to get,’” Wastlund said. “And that not only applies to the beauty of Pine Valley, but the beauty of the people up there.”

Hurricane Valley Fire later said they were incredibly grateful for the donations and they received plenty, so they would not be accepting any more.

Friday’s report

On Friday, the fire, referred to by officials as the Forsyth Fire, is located between the small community of Pine Valley and Signal Peak in Washington County. By afternoon on Friday, it had grown to an estimated 1500 acres in total.

A Utah Interagency Fire update Friday evening confirmed that 12 homes had been destroyed, with 400 structures still threatened.

Officials began evacuating residents of Pine Valley Thursday evening around 9:30 p.m.

Karl Hunt with the Utah Forestry Fire and State Land said on Friday morning that about 400 homes were evacuated.

 

Hunt said the containment of the fire was still at zero percent, but crews were tackling it on the ground and from the air, with the focus of keeping the flames away from nearby buildings. Approximately 100 firefighters were working to battle the flames as of Friday morning, Plecki said.

“Please avoid the area, allow the wildlife firefighters to be able to access the fire and do their job,” Hunt said. “Firefighter safety is one of the most important things when it comes to fighting wildfires, as well as public safety. So we just want the public to be safe, and stay away and allow us to get up there and do our job and be able to fight this fire.”

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office echoed the plea for citizens to stay away from the fire.

“They are trying to get resources up here and moved around to protect both lives and property and it can get difficult with to much traffic floating around,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. “Even one or two extra vehicles can cause problems.”

The office also asked people not to fly drones in the area, as it interferes with fire planes and helicopters.

Fire officials said it was undetermined at the time of publication what caused the fire.

KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson said humidity statewide was expected somewhere between 5 and 10% on Friday, and he projected wind gusts of up to 40 mph throughout the state, with the possibility of 50 mph gusts in the southern mountains.

“There is almost no water in our atmosphere today,” Johnson said.

FIRE DANGER: Dry air along high winds in southern Utah over the next 2 afternoons will keep fire danger running high. The France Canyon, Bridge Creek and Forsyth Fires will be burning hot and fast! #utwx pic.twitter.com/P5ez1EcXdi

— Matthew Johnson (@KSL_Matt) June 20, 2025

Fire growth was likely to continue through Friday, he said, and those north of the fires in the southern part of the state would likely see smoky skies.

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This is a developing story. It may be updated. 

KSL NewsRadio’s Verl Johansen and KSL TV’s Alex Cabrero, Jacob Freeman and Carlysle Price contributed to this story.