PINE VALLEY, Utah — Mary Esther Putnam’s book club was getting together to discuss "The Phoenix Crown" on Monday, a novel about two friends looking for a priceless artifact out of the ashes of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
What’s unusual about Putnam and her club is that it's located in Pine Valley, which itself has been ravaged by a wildfire. Last month, the Forsyth Fire took out 13 homes in the area, but people here tell me that Pine Valley is rising from the ashes.
"Pine Valley does extremely well no matter what happens," Putnam shared. "I used to say, I don't know whether it's good people that move to Pine Valley or that Pine Valley makes people good. We just go on with our lives and make the best of it. Life is good. There's bumps in the road all the time, but... we know how to climb over them."
The Forsyth Fire has burned more than 13,600 acres and is still only 72% contained since it started from a smoldering tree hit by lightning on June 21. On Monday, there were still columns of smoke in the hills rising like that from fireplaces in winter cabins.
Longtime Pine Valley resident's home safe for now as neighbors, friends lose theirs to Forsyth Fire:
But the book club? That can't be stopped.
"I don't think it would have stopped us from having book clubs," said Pine Valley resident Kari Sanford. I really think, even if the whole town had burned up, after a month or two, we would have reorganized in St. George when everybody got to feeling better."
Businesses are also trying to make a comeback. There are short-term rental listings available, and the Pine Valley Lodge is taking reservations again, while the local steakhouse and ice cream parlor are open.
Park officials said the popular Pine Valley Campground remains full of scarred trees, and the grounds will probably be closed for the rest of the season. The nearby reservoir is still being used by water-dropping helicopters attacking the hills above.
How did the Forsyth Fire start 10 days before anyone ever noticed?
Through all the devastation, Mary said residents were eager to get back in.
"That happened right away. We tried to sneak in even before they'd let us," she admitted.
"And when they told us we couldn't walk in the campgrounds, we thought a little bit seriously about sneaking in there too."
Sanford said that neighbors who had just bought a new home in Pine Valley have already started plans to rebuild.
"It's a community that pulls itself up by the bootstraps and moves on," she said.
