PINE VALLEY, Utah — Gov. Spencer Cox addressed reporters Sunday afternoon after touring the area damaged by the Forsyth Fire.
In his remarks, the governor thanked local, state and federal fire crews for their efforts.
He also emphasized the importance of preventing human-caused fires, especially with the ongoing dry conditions and high temperatures. On that topic, he also asked Utahns to start "praying for rain."
"There were 13 homes that were lost, and that's 13 too many, but we can replace property — we can't replace people," Cox said. "The most important statistic today is that nobody has been injured or killed on this fire... That's always our first priority, is protecting people, of course, the people who live here and the people who are fighting these fires."
"Two of the homes that were lost were volunteer firefighters', and so that hits really close to home — the people who are working to save homes losing theirs. So these are personal stories, and this is a special place with a lot of really special people," he added.
A local fire official said the homes lost were mostly secondary homes, including those belonging to the firefighters.
The full press conference can be watched above.
