400 firefighters now working on southern Utah's Pine Valley fire
PINE VALLEY, Washington County — The battle against the fire on southern Utah's Pine Valley Mountains continues Sunday with 400 firefighters now at the scene.
The federal Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team took over command of the blaze, dubbed the Forsyth Fire, on Sunday. The lightning-caused fire remains 0% contained and was last mapped Saturday at 1,640 acres.
At last count, 14 homes and cabins and a few outbuildings were destroyed in the wildfire.
Crews Saturday 'worked to extinguish hot spots in the valley bottom while continuing structure protection efforts. Over the coming days, operations staff will continue to identify safe and effective opportunities to engage the fire directly and seek containment. Firefighter and public safety are the top priority for this incident,' the team managing the fire said in a news release.
Saturday evening, residents in Pinto and Grass Valley Road were urged to evacuate, Utah Fire Info said, after the fire Saturday afternoon 'pushed over a mile north and up over the next ridge, north of Pine Valley.' It was not immediately clear how many more residents are affected. The Pine Valley community evacuation included 450 homes.
Fire officials said 'unseasonably dry fuels,' low humidity and strong winds continue to contribute to fire growth.
'Yesterday the fire crossed the main road in Pine Valley and made a run up the ridgetop to the north. (Sunday) will bring a slight relief from the winds the fire has experienced since Thursday. Winds will be out of the northwest in the morning and transition to a southwest wind in the afternoon. Spotting is expected to occur outside of the fire perimeter,' the team said.
Gov. Spencer Cox is visiting Pine Valley and will hold a news conference at 2 p.m.
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