Residents of Pine Valley and Grass Valley packed into the fire station in Central on Monday evening, anxious to hear updates on the Forsyth Fire that has scorched the area since igniting last week.
Handmade signs that said “Thank You Firefighters” alongside illustrations of a fire axe, red helmet and Smokey the Bear decorated the walls.
“Thank you for supporting us,” said Pine Valley Fire Chief Robert Hardy at the start of the meeting. “This has been hard. We got firefighters who lost homes. We have other community members who have lost homes. We’ve displaced our whole community.”
The fire grew to 8,229 acres as of Tuesday and remains 0% contained. Thirteen structures, including primary and secondary homes, have been lost to the blaze.
“This is the worst case for us, is to lose the house,” said Ryan D’Ambrosio, deputy chief of the Dammeron Valley Fire Rescue, which were on the scene shortly after the fire started Thursday evening.
The communities of Pine Valley and Grass Valley are still under a “go” evacuation order, while Pinto is on a “set” order.
Community members are anxious to return, but Hardy pleaded for patience. Evacuation orders are in place to not only keep residents safe but also help firefighters stay safe and do their job, officials emphasized throughout the meeting.
Sergeant Lucas Alfred from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office told residents that he’s trying his best to provide them with updates on their homes. “I’ll get a hold of you as I can over the next day or two, as much as I can,” he said. “I’m not trying to ignore you. It’s just that we’re a little overwhelmed by everything.”
Despite the loss and stress impacting residents, the community has shown an outpouring of support for firefighters with water, food and other donations.
“It is nothing short of amazing,” said Mike Johnston, the current commander over the fire with Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 7, at the meeting Monday evening. “The level of support we’re getting from the public and the cooperation here in the southern Utah area is amazing, and that makes our job a lot easier to get out there and take care of this incident as quickly as we can.”
Critical fire weather will return later this week
A cold front helped firefighters manage the blaze in recent days. Calmer winds allowed crews to fly aircraft to dump retardant and water on the fire. On Monday, firefighters rappelled from helicopters into areas near an old burn scar to secure the southwest edge of the fire, according to an update the Great Basin Incident Management Team 7 released Tuesday morning.
Crews will begin work in Lloyd Canyon to protect structures, while continually “mopping up and extinguishing hotspots” near structures in already burned areas, the statement said. Firefighters are also laying hose lines around the Pine Valley Recreation Area campgrounds and taking extra precaution to minimize impacts of their equipment in the Pine Valley Wilderness Area.
After a few days of milder conditions, critical fire weather is set to return, though. “Things are getting warmer, things are getting drier and that’s really what’s going to happen through the remainder of the week here,” Sam Webber, the incident meteorologist from the National Weather Service, said at the community meeting.
While the forecast looks dry for the next five days, Webber added that the area could monsoons in the coming weeks, which could cause flooding in the burned areas.
Once the fire is contained, the next step will be post-fire rehabilitation, Joe Rechsteiner, the district ranger for Pine Valley, told residents at the meeting.
“It takes like three to five years, depending on how intense the fire burns and how big it is, for the watershed to heal,” he said. “I expect the roads and a lot of the trails are going to be closed for a bit, as well as the campground.”
France Canyon continues to grow
The France Canyon Fire burning near Bryce Canyon National Park reached 25,550 acres as of Tuesday morning. The fire is 10% contained, and 753 firefighters are currently tackling the blaze.
Crews have continued to hold a fire line at the East Fork Road to prevent spread to the national park. Visitors to the park may continue to experience smoke impacts, though. The Great Basin Incident Management Team 5, which is overseeing the fire operations, warned travelers in a statement on Tuesday to “drive slowly and cautiously near fire zones. Smoke can reduce visibility.”
Firefighters have continued to protect the Bryce Woodlands community to the southwest of the blaze. “We don’t have any worries for them right now,” said Alyssa Archuleta, a public information officer with the incident management team.
(U.S. Forest Service) Smoke billows from firefighters’ strategic firing operations on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Firefighters ignited vegetation between the France Canyon Fire and Pole Canyon Road to protect the community of Bryce Woodlands.
If weather conditions permit on Tuesday, crews are expected to tackle the northern part of the fire, near Hillsdale and Johnson Canyons, to prepare for tactical firing operations near power lines. Garkane Energy has a power outage scheduled to coincide with firefighting efforts in the area on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. This will impact residents in Hatch, Duck Creek, Cedar Mountain, Patstown and the areas surrounding Panguitch, but not Panguitch proper.
Road closures include all national forest lands south of Utah State Route 12, on the Powell Ranger District, with the exception of the trails and campgrounds in Red Canyon. The East Fork Road also remains closed. State Route 12 and Highway 89, as well as Bryce Canyon National Park are open.