PINE VALLEY, Utah — Firefighters battling the Forsyth Fire in Pine Valley reached their first containment milestone Thursday as they prepare for a new wave of challenging weather conditions.
Washington County Sheriff Deputy Lucas Alfred confirms the towns of Pine Valley and Grass Valley will be upgraded from red mandatory evacuation level to yellow by Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. While only residents will be allowed to return, they will still be required to be prepared to evacuate.
"The biggest news today is we have reached 5% containment on the fire," said Jordan Nesbitt with the National Interagency Fire Center Great Basin Team 7.
The containment line runs through the main valley of the Pine Valley community, creating a barrier that firefighters believe will hold even if the fire returns to that area.
"What we look for is that if the fire were to move back into that area, it is not going to cross the line that we have called contained," Nesbitt explained.
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Drier conditions with temperatures in the 90s at this altitude and humidity in the single digits are creating new challenges for fire crews.
"The big thing there is our overnight humidity recoveries are going to be lower," said Nesbitt. "If those don't pick up moisture levels and they stay dry, we start to see the fire burning more throughout the evening."
Several flare-ups were observed Thursday afternoon, including near the fire's origin point where lightning first struck a tree. Since the fire's start, more than 9,600 acres have burned and 13 homes have been destroyed, though none have been damaged since last weekend.
The main concern firefighters remain with the fire lines north and east of Pine Valley. The small towns of Grass Valley and Pinto to the north continue to be under evacuation orders as their ranches face potential threat from the advancing flames. Firefighters have spent the week establishing defensive lines using bulldozed areas and backfires to protect these communities.
"This whole line and region here is to protect the community of Grass Valley," Nesbitt explained, while pointing to a map of the fire area.
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Crews have deployed various defensive measures, including setting up sprinkler systems around Pine Valley camping areas that have already sustained some damage.
"It's not too different from what you have in your garden or what you'd see in, like, a park on a field," said Nesbitt. "Basically, it just adds water. It raises the humidity in the area."
Unmanned aerial vehicles have also been enlisted in the firefighting effort, dropping specialized incendiary devices to create controlled burns.
The fire continues to move primarily eastward, making smoke visible from Interstate 15 for the first time. However, there remains a significant wilderness area without structures between the current fire line and the highway.
"Worst case scenario is we see some spread over here into the wilderness, which we are expecting," Nesbitt said. "Our crews are working to get ahead of that. It's difficult to get into that country."
