More than 14,000 acres burning under national forest oversight, almost 1,000 acres in national park
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, March 25 — After completing an initial assessment of the damage from recent wildfires in the Page Valley around 4 p.m. Sunday, county officials released a report stating that 10 residences were “destroyed” by the flames, another received “major damage” and three others were “affected.”
Sunday’s damage assessment team included individuals from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Page County Emergency Management and Page County Sheriff’s Office.
“Fort Valley Road remains closed to through traffic [from] 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; however, impacted residents can access with proper identification. Fort Valley Road is open to all traffic between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.,” Sunday evening’s press release from the county states. “Route 211 will open fully at 6 p.m. to all traffic.”
The voluntary evacuation of all residents in all areas of Page County was rescinded Sunday evening at 8 p.m. Residents are now able to access their property. Property owners can self-report any damage they notice upon their return by calling the Page County Emergency Communications Center at 540-843-0911.
Currently the forest service is tracking five fires in the greater region, stretching from two in Page and Shenandoah counties, to two in Hardy County, W.Va., and another in Rockingham County. Here’s Monday’s updates on each fire being managed by the forest service:
• 6,257 acres, 20% contained — Waterfall Mountain/Shenandoah Forest/211 West Fire, Shenandoah and Page counties, Va. – Helicopters dropped approximately eight buckets of water [Sunday] on the fire’s north side. [Monday] firefighters will continue to improve current lines and make progress on constructing lines to the north and south along private lands.
• 4,361 acres, 42% contained — Waites Run Fire, Hardy County, W.Va. – Firefighters will continue to build control lines to tie into roads on the east side of the fire. Crews will look for pockets of unburned fuels for potential strategic firing operations.
• 2,622 acres, 45% contained — Capon/Brush Run Fire, Rockingham County, Va. – Firefighters completed dozer and hand line on the north side of the fire yesterday and will patrol and monitor the fire today. Crews also will look for pockets of unburned fuels for potential strategic firing operations.
• 1,245 acres, 80% contained — Edith Gap/Serenity Ridge Fire, Shenandoah and Page counties, Va. – Firefighters will patrol, monitor and mop up around the fire, especially in the area where control lines were tied into a previous hazardous fuels treatment area.
• 155 acres, 70% contained — Cove Mountain Fire, Hardy County, W.Va. – Firefighters will continue securing the control line on the southeast portion of the fire. Once this is complete, the fire will move into patrol and monitor status. Fire management officials have reduced the containment percentage based on information gathered from better mapping and firefighters working in the area.
“Yesterday, firefighters contained the last wildfires in Shenandoah, Highland and Augusta counties and are nearing containment of the remaining fires in Rockingham and Page counties,” the Virginia Department of Forestry stated in a press release midday Monday. “Today, crews will continue to strengthen containment lines and begin mop-up operations to extinguish remaining hotspots.”
“The Page County EOC has returned to normal daily operations. All road closures have been lifted in both counties, although a temporary daytime restriction may still be used in isolated locations to limit onlooker congestion in areas with the heaviest movement of fire apparatus,” the VDOF statement continues. “Significant federal and state resources are working to fully contain the remaining fires by Friday. In Page County alone, three helicopters and approximately 120 firefighters are on the fires today. Crews will also continue to check on any fires we’ve had over the past 5 to 7 days to ensure everything is still in good shape and there’s nothing that would cause a potential problem in the future.”
The cause of the fires is undetermined, but under investigation. Air attack is scheduled to fly today around 3 p.m. to assess fire activity and coordinate with ground resources. Residents are reminded that the flying of drones over the wildfire area is prohibited at this time, so that is does not interfere with air support. Unmanned Aircraft (drone) use is prohibited in Shenandoah National Park.
The cause of the Rocky Branch fire remains unknown as well. The Shenandoah National Park fire is still reported at 987 acres as of Monday morning, but now at 25-percent contained. This fire started on private property before spreading into Shenandoah National Park.
Monday morning’s report states: “Firefighters continue to focus their efforts on mop-up operations along the fire perimeter. [On Sunday] Firefighters looked for hotspots in Kemp Hollow and continued to secure control lines around private property. Along Skyline Drive, firefighters scouted for hazardous trees and hotspots to ensure the area was safe for firefighters and Shenandoah National Park visitors once the area reopens. They mapped the fire perimeter for a more accurate acreage. [On Monday] Firefighters will continue mop-up along Skyline Drive and Kemp Hollow structures. Fire inside Wilderness areas will continue to be monitored, and crews will focus their efforts on removing hazardous trees along Skyline Drive and clearing fallen trees on the Appalachian Trail. Firefighters continue to improve mapping, especially on the west side of the fire.”
Skyline Drive is closed from Thornton Gap (milepost 31.5) to Mathews Arm Campground (milepost 22.1). A complete fire ban is in place for Shenandoah National Park. No open-air fires permitted. Trail closures include:
- Appalachian Trail from Elkwallow to Beahms Gap
- Rocky Branch
- Neighbor Mountain
- Jeremys Run
- Hull School Trail from Skyline Drive to Thornton River Upper Trail
- Thornton River Upper Trail from intersection of Hull School Trail to Skyline Drive
While Monday will be sunny with light winds, Tuesday is expected to produce increasing clouds ahead of an approaching cold front which could bring showers on Tuesday night into Wednesday. Behind the cold front, gusty winds are forecasted for later this week.
Virginia’s 4 p.m. Burning Law remains in effect until April 30, 2024. It bans open-air burning before 4 p.m. if the fire is within 300 feet of the woods or dry grass, which could carry fire to the woods. Burning is allowed between 4 p.m. and midnight as long as the burner takes proper precautions and attends the fire at all times.
Air quality is now rated as good in the area, with a greatly reduced amount of smoke coming from the wildfires. Additional information is available at www.airnow.gov.
•••
RELATED ARTICLES
Who we really count on in times of trouble
Page Valley’s 211 wildfire now 50% contained after scorching 5,000 acres
Page County calls for Youngkin to declare ‘state of emergency’ due to ‘dire situation’
Firefighters still attempting to contain several fires, homes lost, residents displaced
High winds result in downed lines, power outages and multiple wildfires that force evacuations
Be the first to comment