400 firefighters battle the Forsyth Fire, orders in for more

PINE VALLEY, Utah (ABC4) — About 400 firefighters are battling the Forsyth Fire near Pine Valley in Southern Utah that is burning nearly 5,660 acres and remains at 0% containment.

Pine Valley and Grass Valley are under mandatory evacuation orders. The town of Pinto is on standby.

“It’s very humbling when you’re loading up your cars as you try to decide what you’re going to take and you have family who are the only ones that matter,” one of the residents who were evacuating got emotional while speaking with ABC4.com.

According to the latest updates from the U.S. Forest Service – Dixie National Forest, due to a break in the winds on Sunday, crews were able to map the area to get an accurate picture of the fire’s perimeter. They suspect lightning caused the fire.

Officials say they have orders in for more personnel to help them with battling the fire and still aren’t sure how that will affect the number of local firefighters possibly pulling back. 

Mike McMillan with the U.S. Forest Service- Dixie National Forest said their primary mission is safety and securing the town to make sure no more structures are lost.

“They’ve managed to scramble from house to house and basically save as many residents as they could,” McMillan told ABC4.com. As of Saturday, the fire has destroyed 14 homes.

ABC4 spoke with Chief Charlie Guthrie with the Northwest Fire and Rescue District who was on the fire lines when the flames broke out.

“It was big heavy timbers the fire came down through. It was pretty impressive, but pretty scary,” Chief Guthrie said. “There was one point when we were on structure protection and the fire got so close we had to drop our hose and run.”

Chief Guthrie says they’re hitting the fire with full force. There are air attacks during the day and bulldozers in place to protect structures.

A community meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the Central Fire Station. It’s the first one so far. Utah Governor Spencer Cox is expected to attend this meeting.