Forsyth Fire 0% content; France Canyon Fire now the second largest in Utah in 5 years

Pine Valley, County of Washington – No additional structure was lost in the Pine Valley region despite strong winds that helped forest fires spread closer to other neighboring communities during the weekend.

Forsyth’s fire, which has already destroyed 14 houses and four other structures, has now burned 7,045 acres of land and remains 0% content, according to Mike Johnston, an incident commander for the management team of complex incidents of the Grand Basin 7, which took control of the operations to fight firefighters.

A mixture of strong gusts of wind, low relative humidity and hot temperatures – known as the conditions of the red flag – rendered fire -fighting operations on Friday and Saturday, but the conditions improved on Sunday to allow a team of air resources to drop the delay on a “prominent ropeeline” to slow down the capacity of the fire to progress, said Johnston.

“The crews have worked with diligence throughout the day to mop and turn hot spots behind the structures, reaching up to 100 feet in the burned area,” he added. “From the floor of the valley to Water Canyon, the firefighters built a hand line that will connect to a Bull-Bordel line from the North.”

More than 280 firefighters are currently assigned to the fight against fire. Smart winds and cooler conditions are also in the forecasts on Monday, but Johnston said that the warmer and darkest conditions planned for later this week could trigger more “critical fire time”. The dry conditions in the region also made the fights of the fire difficult.

Hundreds of people in the areas of Pine Valley and Grass Valley remain under the evacuation, while the Pinto zone could be evacuated if the fire moves further northwest. A community meeting is planned for residents of Pine Valley and Grass Valley at 6 p, m. Monday. It will take place at the central Fire barracks, 155 E. Center Street in Central, in the county of Washington.

Governor Spencer Cox visited the site on Sunday, calling it “miracle” that fire caused by lightning has not burned more houses. A fire map shows that fire has slipped to the community after starting on Thursday, but its growth has spread to the north and east of the community.

“It is a combination of a very good job and a little luck, but I believe that it is also a divine intervention,” he said. “It’s a tragedy, of course. … But we can replace the property; we cannot replace people.”

France Canyon Fire threatens the campsite field

Meanwhile, a burning forest fire near Bryce Canyon also increased over the weekend and threatened a campsite in the region.

The fire in France Canyon has now burned 23,353 acres since its start on June 11, according to an US Forest Service update on Monday. This is now making it the second UTAH forest fire in the past five years, behind the yellow lake late last year, which has burned more than 33,000 acres in the Wasatch hinterland.

Friday, it was listed at 9,575 acres, but the conditions of the red flag during the weekend resulted in a double size. A tactical team of the fire-fighting operation was deployed on the Kings Creek campsite on Sunday afternoon to help protect it while the fire began to approach the region, officials of the forest service said.

Nearly 750 members of fire fighting staff are responsible for fighting the fire caused by lightning, which is now contained at 10%. Fire smoke can continue to have an impact on neighboring communities like Bryce Canyon, Escalante, Enoch and Panguitch this week.