The report states that firefighters struggled yesterday in rugged terrain to contain a fire that has already burned 125 acres and has the potential to burn 850 acres.
The fire was reported Monday night and volunteer firefighters from the Hampton-Valley Forge Volunteer Fire Department were the first on the scene.
By late afternoon Tuesday, Mitch Ketron, the district fire management officer for the Watauga Division of the Cherokee National Forest, said there were about 70 federal firefighters working the fire, including the Davidson River (North Carolina) Initial Attack Crew, and 11 smokejumpers from McCall, Idaho. He said eight more smokejumpers were expected to arrive Tuesday evening.
“We have about two miles of (fire) line put in and we have another mile to go,” Ketron said.
The terrain and the condition of the vegetation are making it difficult for the firefighters. The fire is burning on the mountain from an elevation of 1,800 feet up and over the top at 3,000 feet. He said the vegetation includes a lot of beetle-kill wood and heavy rhododendron growth. There is a lot of leaf litter and pine needles on the ground, Ketron said.
He said the amount had accumulated since there had not been any fire in the area for at least 10 years.
The fire also was being helped by the weather conditions, with temperatures reaching 86 degrees and relative humidity under 30 percent. Ketron said added to that was a persistent upslope wind. The National Weather Service monitoring station at Tri-Cities Regional Airport reported sustained winds during the day from 18 to 23 mph. with gusts up to 30 mph.
The conditions caused the National Weather Service Office in Morristown to issue a hazardous weather outlook at 3:12 a.m. Tuesday in which the office said “due to low afternoon humidities and breezy southwest winds ... elevated fire danger is expected today ... (and) Wednesday.”
“One thing that is helping us is the amount of moisture in the fuel,” Ketron said. “All the rain and snow have really packed down the fuel.”
Ketron said the fire was set by an arsonist and federal investigators will be involved.
Ketron expects the fire to be contained by 6 p.m. Friday.
In North Carolina, state forest crews have battled a total 40 fires that have scorched 279 acres in the Asheville district since last Thursday, including:
> A 50-to 60-acre fire near Ridgecrest in McDowell County that started Tuesday afternoon that is now 95 percent contained.
> Another Tuesday afternoon blaze in Transylvania County in the Round Mountain community threatened about 15 structures, prompting the evacuation of dozens of residents. As of late Tuesday, that blaze measured about 25 acres, and crews had it roughly 50 percent contained. A power line sparked the fire.
The National Weather Service issued the following warning this morning for the Smokies region:
...ELEVATED FIRE DANGER THREAT ACROSS EAST TENNESSEE ... SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA TODAY...
UNSEASONABLY WARM TEMPERATURES AND A SOUTHWEST BREEZE WILL COMBINE TODAY TO ELEVATE THE FIRE DANGER ACROSS EAST TENNESSEE ... SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA ... AND EXTREME SOTUHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL BE BETWEEN 10 AND 20 MPH WITH SOME GUSTS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS ABOVE 2500 FEET. MOISTURE LEVELS WILL BE RATHER LOW THIS AFTERNOON AS WELL. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL DROP TO AROUND 20 TO 25 PERCENT ACROSS SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...WITH 25 TO 35 PERCENT IN THE GREAT TENNESSEE VALLEY.
EXTRA CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED WHEN CONDUCTING ANY OPEN BURNING OPERATIONS DURING THESE PERIODS...SINCE FINE FUELS WILL EASILY IGNITE IF EXPOSED TO FLAME. SMOKERS SHOULD BE EXTRA CAUTIOUS...AND DISPOSE OF CIGARETTES IN A SAFE MANNER. NEVER CARELESSLY TOSS A LIT MATCH. DRY MULCH AROUND HOMES AND BUSINESSES CAN QUICKLY IGNITE.
A cold front that arrives Thursday will bring with it the possibility of showers and storms.
Jeff
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