Southern Utah fire destroys 12 homes; hundreds remain evacuated
PINE VALLEY, Washington County — A fast-growing wildfire burning near Pine Valley has now destroyed at least a dozen structures, while hundreds more remain threatened.
Firefighters said all 12 structures in the Forsyth Fire were primary or secondary homes. The Washington County Sheriff's Office is recommending that anyone who has not yet evacuated the Pine Valley area leave as soon as possible, as crews continue to battle a wildfire that has grown due to strong winds and other 'critical' fire weather conditions.
'If you have family up in Pine Valley, please tell them to evacuate,' the agency said in a post to Facebook Friday afternoon.
About 400 to 500 people were evacuated from Pine Valley, as well as the Pine Valley Campground, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Jenny Plecki said in an earlier update. She estimated that 450 homes were evacuated, half of which were occupied by full-time residents.
The evacuation was ordered as flames started moving downslope toward the community, Chad Walker, incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service, told KSL-TV. Kelly Cannon, one of the residents forced to evacuate, said she saw the fire get very close to homes on her way out.
'I think the scariest thing was not knowing ... if it was going to come down on our street,' she said. 'We didn't know how far the fire had spread, but we could definitely see — I think the flames were like 3 feet high.'
About 150 firefighters have been dispatched to battle the fire, Plecki added. The fire was last listed as about 1,500 acres in size, according to Utah Fire Info, an information source operated by state and federal fire agencies. It remained 0% contained as of 5 p.m. Friday.
Police have also closed off Pine Valley Road several miles from where the fire is burning as a safety precaution.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but authorities say it appears that the fire was caused by lightning. The fire was reported not long after a strike Thursday evening. Strong wind gusts in the area helped fan the fire closer to the Pine Valley community.
The update comes as heat, wind and low relative humidity remain in the forecast Friday, prompting the National Weather Service to list most of the state in a red flag warning. 'Critical' fire weather conditions may remain across most of the state through Saturday evening.
'With the red flag conditions that we've had over these last few days, it made engaging the fire extremely difficult,' Walker said.
The agency also issued a wind advisory for parts of western Utah, where gusts of up to 45-55 mph were forecasted for Friday ahead of a cold front that is forecast to lower temperatures this weekend.
Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain Power, Utah's largest power provider, says it is monitoring the conditions and may temporarily cut power in parts of central and southern Utah until fire weather conditions improve.
While the Forsyth Fire began Thursday evening, a large fire burning near Bryce Canyon National Park also grew as wind and other factors 'significantly' increased fire activity in the area.
The France Canyon Fire, Utah's largest wildfire so far this season, has now scorched 9,575 acres, doubling in size over the last few days, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph fanned flames and forced firefighters to take a 'tactical pause,' the agency reported on Friday.
Red flag conditions forecast for Friday and Saturday could pose additional problems. Over 500 personnel are assigned to battle the wildfire, which remains 5% contained, but a complex incident management team has now been called in to bring more resources.
The lightning-caused fire was first reported within Dixie National Forest on June 11. All Forest Service land south of state Route 12 within the Powell Ranger District remains closed.
The Bridge Creek Fire, which is burning near the Utah-Arizona border east of Lake Powell, hasn't grown quite as much. It's now listed at 1,413 acres in size after experiencing 'minimal growth' on Thursday, the Northern Arizona Type 3 Incident Management Team reported on Friday.
State and federal firefighters reported over a dozen new wildfires have started since Thursday; most were contained quickly. A fire that sparked in Salt Lake County late Friday also led to an I-80 closure.
With strong wind gusts in the forecast through Saturday, Rocky Mountain Power says it may shut off power in some areas to prevent sparking new wildfires. It issued a 'Public Safety Power Shutoff Watch' for parts of southern and central Utah, extending up toward the southern end of the Wasatch Front.
Communities like Dixie, Enterprise Valley, Cedar City, Milford, Panguitch, Richfield and Santaquin are mentioned in the advisory. Rocky Mountain Power officials say the outages are most likely to take place in those areas between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday.
'Community safety and reducing wildfire risk are our top priorities,' said Pete Singh, the company's incident commander, in a statement. 'We take the decision to turn off power very seriously. Public Safety Power Shutoffs will be targeted, precise and guided by real-time data from conditions on the ground.'
While the U.S. Drought Monitor no longer lists any part of Utah in extreme drought for the first time in months, all parts of the state are now listed as 'abnormally dry' or in some level of drought, highlighting the potential fire danger.
Contributing: Alex Cabrero
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