Page County calls for Youngkin to declare ‘state of emergency’ due to ‘dire situation’

Rain forecast for Friday night might not be enough to squelch flames

By Randy Arrington

LURAY, March 22 — Nearly 80 wildfires have been reported in Virginia since high winds fanned flames across the commonwealth on Wednesday. Only a dozen of those fires consumed 100 acres or more, and as of Friday afternoon, the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) reported that only 14 remain active. However, local reports further reveal that five of those fires have been 100-percent contained. Among the remaining nine — one acre was on fire near Berryville in Clarke County, two fires of 20 acres each were burning north and west of Staunton, two blazes totaling 2,675 acres are still rolling through western Rockingham County, and four wildfires totaling 3,420 acres remain burning in the central Page Valley.

Fire estimates provided by VDOF have not changed for Page County since yesterday morning:

• 2,000 acres — 211 West; 0% contained.
• 700 acres — East Rocky Ridge; 0% contained.
• 600 acres — Serenity Ridge; 0% contained.
• 120 acres — Shenandoah Forest, 10% contained.

Firefighters continue to battle the multiple blazes on several fronts. Five bulldozers were brought in on Thursday to begin building buffers and clearing debris around communities and homes. Additional help arrived from outside agencies in form of tankers and personnel. No new estimates have been offered on the loss of property beyond “10 to 20 structures.”

Rain is forecast for Friday evening, but many officials wonder if the 1/2-inch of precipitation expected will be enough to dampen the flames. Winds were relatively calm on Friday morning, with gusts out of the southwest of 15 to 25 mph since noon.

Much of the focus of this regional disaster has now come down to Page County, where 100 power outages remained as of midday Friday, according to Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. While the regional electric provider had nearly 4,000 of its 14,000 meters without power on Wednesday afternoon — their focus is now on Page.

“Progress continues with service restoration in SVEC’s territory, with a focus on the 100 remaining outages in Page County as Friday’s efforts unfold,” the SVEC press release stated. “Access to certain outage sites in Page County has been limited or unavailable as first responders respond to fires in the area. As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, SVEC, its contracted crews and mutual aid assistance from other Virginia electric cooperatives are progressively gaining more access to assess damage from Wednesday’s strong winds.”

“An estimated time for restoration in these specific areas of Page County is pending, as further assessment of damages occurs on Friday,” SVEC officials stated. “At the start of Friday’s efforts, outages totaling about 350 members were largely concentrated in Page and Rockingham counties.”

Two road closures remain in place on Route 211 West heading toward the New Market Gap, and on Fort Valley Road. However, as thousands of acres continue to burn on Day 3, the large-scale incident has not resulted in any injuries to citizens or first responder personnel. Page County Public Schools remained closed on Friday, as they were Thursday, with all activities this afternoon and evening canceled and all school facilities shut down. Luray High School is still on standby as a potential shelter.

Following a social media drive over the last two days to push the state for resources and help, the county issued a formal request to Governor Glenn Youngkin on Friday.

“Our local agencies are exhausted, both mentally and physically, and we have a dire situation that is continuing to rage out of control,” states the March 22 letter signed by Keith Weakley, chairman of the Page County Board of Supervisors. “At this moment, over 3,400 acres have burned and 10 to 20 structures are now ash. Of the multiple fires burning, only one is 10 percent contained.”

“On behalf of the Board of Supervisors, I respectfully request that you declare a state of emergency for Page County so that we can utilize state resources to assist with this situation that is out of control to prevent further loss of property,” Weakley’s letter states.

The letter describes how “multiple severe wildland fires began in Page County that quickly grew out of control beyond what our local resources could handle. As a result, Page County declared a local emergency due to hazardous fires that were intensified from high winds. Residents in communities around the fires were asked to evacuate due to the imminent threat to life and property. Local fire and EMS agencies have been working these raging fires along with resources from other localities throughout the state, with assistance from the Virginia Department of Forestry.”

Senator Mark Obenshain and Delegate Todd Gilbert were both copied on the letter, which prompted a subsequent letter to the Governor this afternoon from Sen. Obenshain.

“From my discussions with you personally and with members of your administration, I know the depths of your personal concern for the residents affected by this fire and for the emergency personnel involved in fighting the fire. I am also aware of your efforts to get needed resources deployed to fight this fire and to provide relief,” Obenshain’s letter to Gov. Youngkin states. “I have been in consistent contact with local authorities, and they appreciate the assistance they have so far received from the state. Our first responders are beyond exhausted, financial resources from the local volunteer fire departments are being depleted to fight the fires and fuel is running low.”

Sen. Obenshain forwarded a copy of the county’s letter to Gov. Youngkin, stating, “I respectfully join in this request. It is our hope that this fire can be contained in the coming hours and that this action will allow the County and emergency personnel to access additional resources.”

The community continues to bring in donations for frontline firefighters and those involved in protecting personal property from the flames. As of this afternoon, social media posts from various agencies indicated that food donations were sufficient, but other needs included:

• Water/Sports Drinks
• Checks or fuel cards

These items can be dropped off at the Luray Fire Department at 1 Firehouse Lane, the Stanley Fire Department at 190 East Main Street, or the Shenandoah Fire Department at 201 Pennsylvania Avenue.

“Currently, the most useful donations to be made is cash or fuel cards to assist with fueling apparatus and repairing any equipment to support these ongoing incidents. Larger denomination fuel cards are more efficient in the refueling operation due to needing less transactions,” states a notice from Page County Fire-EMS earlier today.

Information about how to support any impacted families will be made available once more information is obtained about any unmet needs.

Anyone needing non-emergency assistance as a result of these incidents should call the Page County Emergency Operations Center at 540-843-3357.

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