Behind the scenes of fighting the Forsyth Fire in southern Utah

ENTERPRISE, Washington County — The number of people involved in fighting the Forsyth Fire in Washington County has swelled to nearly 700.

That includes some who are making a big difference behind the scenes.

Related: A tree in Pine Valley was struck by lightning. Here’s how the Forsyth Fire took over 10 days later

Sam Webber is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, but he’s on a special assignment in southern Utah to help fight the Forsyth Fire through forecasting and analyzing weather patterns.

“I am focused only on this fire, the area in and around it,” Webber told KSL TV Wednesday in an interview at Enterprise High School, where an incident command center has been set up to manage firefighting efforts. “It helps the team gain confidence that the firefighters out there on the field are going to be safe.”

The Forsyth Fire started last week, which officials said was caused by lightning that hit a tree 10 days earlier, allowing heat to smolder until the wind caused flames to spread. As of late Wednesday afternoon, the fire had burned nearly 9,000 acres and was 0% contained. It also destroyed 13 homes and four other buildings.

Starting around 5 a.m. each day, Webber spends long hours behind a desk and out in the field forecasting conditions and letting crews know what to expect. Doing that, Webber said, “helps the team gain confidence in how they’re going to strategically fight this fire.”

Sitting next to him is Joe Flores, a U.S. Forest Service employee who analyzes the fire’s behavior.

“It’s behaving kind of as you would expect in a drought,” Flores said, noting conditions in southwestern Utah are very dry.

In his work, Flores tries to look at the big picture — where the fire might go next, and what else it might threaten such as structures, watersheds and animal habitats.

Ultimately, these two behind-the-scenes jobs are about safety.

“So that as firefighters are engaged in a fire, that somebody’s standing back and being able to look at the fire environment and help them stay safe,” said Flores.

Initially, the Forsyth Fire was fueled by strong winds, but the weather has been more favorable for firefighting lately. However, it’s expected to get hotter and drier over the next few days, and Webber said shifting or increasing winds could also complicate firefighting efforts.

Residents in the Pine Valley and Grass Valley communities remain under an evacuation order, and it’s unclear when they will be able to return to their homes. Meanwhile, people in nearby Pinto have been told to be ready to leave if conditions get worse.

Roy Hafen, whose family has lived in Pinto for generations, said things were tense last week when the fire started. But once the wind shifted, it’s been calmer.

“I think we’re in pretty good shape,” Hafen said. “The weather’s been good, the wind’s kind of stopped, so we feel like that … here in Pinto, we’re pretty safe.”

But he knows the danger isn’t over. He and others in that small community are watching to see what happens, especially if the wind kicks up again.

Still, Hafen said he feels lucky considering how things could have turned out for Pinto when the fire first started.

“It could have been pretty devastating,” he said.

Read more from KSLTV.com.