Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday “it’s a miracle” no more homes have burned in the wildfire ravaging parts of southern Utah’s Pine Valley Mountains. “It’s a combination of really great work and a little bit of luck, but I believe it’s divine intervention as well,” Cox said at a news conference, standing alongside local leaders with smoke billowing in the distance behind. “This is a tragedy, obviously. It looks like the final count is 13 homes that were lost, and that’s 13 too many. But we can replace property; we can’t replace people,” he said.
Fire officials said the official number, however, remains 14 homes as reported Saturday, and a few outbuildings have also been destroyed. Meanwhile, the battle against the Forsyth Fire continues Sunday with 400 firefighters now at the scene. Cox thanked all of the firefighters for their work. Cox said 50-60 mph winds, with conditions as dry as they are right now, have given “voracity to it,” with “random” spotting happening up to a mile away from the main fire. Crews jumping on those spots quickly have kept it from being “far more disastrous than it was,” the governor added.
