On June 16th, 2025, a fire was detected in the Pine Valley District of the Dixie National Forest. Since then, more than 15,000 acres have burned, damaging homes, trails, and impacting the wilderness areas of the forest. High winds, dry conditions, and overgrowth have all continued to contribute to the ongoing burning. We spoke with our partners at the Dixie National Forest to talk about this active burn, some of the historic burns, and the implications of them on our ongoing projects.
In the past 20 years, nearly 80% of the wilderness areas on the Pine Valley district have burned, with large areas being impacted by the ongoing Forsyth Fire, the 2009 Mill Flat Fire, the 2016 Oak Grove Fire, the 2017 Saddle Fire, and the 2018 West Valley Fire. These burns have a lasting impact on recreation and trail access for many popular sites. As Del Orme, Public Service Staff Officer, puts it, “trails are hard to maintain in good conditions, but when they burn it is much harder.”
While many of the trails have suffered significant damage, we remain hopeful that our forest lands will rebound, and recreation opportunities will be back next year. In the meantime, this past weekend, the Zion Forever Project and Dixie National Forest Service were able to celebrate Pine Valley Heritage Day with a community cookout. This event brought together much of the community to give thanks to the firefighters who fought to protect this historic site.
A few of the ongoing projects fundraising efforts by Zion Forever featured in the 2025 digital Field Guide are specific to the Pine Valley District. We are still actively working to secure funding for these priorities. Once the dust settles and the fire dies down, funding for trail work and new signage will be more important than ever. The following projects share some of the stories of the need prior to the start of the Forsyth Fire. Improving Wilderness Trails in the Pine Valley Mountains, Connecting Visitors with Responsible Recreation, and Heritage Exhibit at the Pine Valley Heritage Center. If you would like to make a gift in support of these ongoing efforts, please visit HERE and in the comment section, put "Pine Valley".
We are so grateful to the first responders, firefighters, community members, and our public lands partners who have worked for weeks to battle the blaze.
