Heavy rain and flash flooding that hit the Forsyth Fire’s burn scar area in Pine Valley last weekend has left a mess for U.S Forest Service engineers to clean up.
The impact has forced a temporary closure of the Pine Valley Recreation Area for public safety, the U.S. Forest Service — Dixie National Forest announced on its Facebook page Monday.
“Due to recent impacts from Hurricane Priscilla, the Pine Valley Recreation Area and Forsyth Fire burn scar experienced significant damage during a flood event last week,” the social media post reads.
Remnants of Hurricane Priscilla started barreling down on Washington County in the early evening of Friday, Oct. 10, leading to reports of flooded roads.
By 10 p.m., Pine Valley Fire Chief Robert Hardy said “ongoing flooding” was impacting the area, and officials suspected there were already damages to homes.
Even before the storm moved into the area, Hardy indicated concern for people living near the burn scar.
The Forsyth Fire sparked in June, burning more than 15,000 acres and destroying more than a dozen homes in Pine Valley.
On Saturday, Oct 11, Pine Valley Fire and EMS said the storm had caused significant damage at the Pine Valley Campground and entire Recreation Area; they warned that the area was “very unsafe.”
Though that was more than a week ago, the U.S. Forest Service said Monday that its engineers were “currently working on clearing debris and assessing damage.”
The forest service did not indicate or share an exact timeline of when the impacted area may reopen, but people are encouraged to visit its webpage for alerts and updates on current closures in the area.