Wildfire — Southern Mountains, Utah

2025-06-19 to 2025-06-27 · Southern Mountains, Utah

Event narrative

The Forsyth Fire started on Thursday, June 19th, 2025. Initial reports from fire officials state the fire is suspected to have originated as a holdover from lightning in the Pine Valley Mountains. A long stretch of hot, dry, and windy conditions prevailed ahead of the fire's discovery on the 19th. A nearby RAWS station in Pine Valley (TT900) observed Red Flag conditions (wind gusts >25 mph and RH <15%) for about 16 hours from the afternoon of the 19th to the early morning hours on the 20th. A mandatory evacuation order for the Pine Valley community was issued at 9:21 PM on the 19th. Red Flag conditions redeveloped late morning on the 20th, with strong southwest winds eventually pushing the fire into the community of Pine Valley. Washington County Sheriff reports 14 homes and 4 outbuildings destroyed in Pine Valley despite mitigation efforts. Red Flag conditions continued June 21st with the TT900 RAWS station reporting wind gusts upwards of 44 mph with RH in the single digits to teens. This resulted in the fire spreading to the north side of the valley and making a run at the communities of Grass Valley and Pinto, which were placed in an evacuation order at 5:37 PM on June 21st. Evacuation orders were lifted at 10 AM Friday, June 27. A total of 15,563 acres were affected by the wildfire.

Wider weather episode

The Forsyth wildfire in Washington County affected residences in the Pine Valley Mountains.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1278611. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.