PINE VALLEY, Utah — The remnants of the Forsyth Fire can still be seen around parts of Pine Valley, but now one group, the Dinner Committee, is purchasing and planting Ponderosa pines.
Those are the same trees that got burned in the wildfire, and the committee wants to help restore and beautify the landscape.
"Those people were severely impacted; life-altering type of impact. Some people haven't gotten over it; it's been so traumatizing to them," said Pine Valley Fire Chief Robert Hardy.
Over one hundred trees were planted in the area.
"It's not just the fire department involved in this. This was a grassroots effort started by the Dinner Committee in Pine Valley," Hardy said. "The trees we planted are three four foot tall these are established type of trees the dinner committee purchased for the people that had their homes destroyed so they could revegetate the area and have it look nice again."
As the new trees sprout up among the new homes, the threat remains.
"The community members that live in the urban interface right up next to the forest there are devastating things that can happen," said Capt. Rob Nodine.
"As I understand it our soil moisture contact is at record levels going into the fall which is wonderful if we get a nice healthy snow pack on top of it which we're hoping for," added Chief Hardy.
Despite the devastation, the people and the trees keep coming back stronger.
"The people in Pine Valley, we're a resilient crew," Nodine said.