The Shadow
Wildfires continue to burn across more than 7,000 acres of Alleghany County today and forced the closure of Interstate 64 between Clifton Forge and Kerrs Creek as firefighters battle high winds in their efforts to contain the fires.
“We’ve seen a tremendous uptick in fire activity today,” said John Miller, director of resource protection for the Virginia Department of Forestry, in a written statement released Tuesday afternoon. “It would be fair to say that all 180 of our wildland firefighters are involved in suppression efforts today and resources are at or near capacity.”
According to the VDOF, five large wildfires are burning more than 11,000 acres across the commonwealth of Virginia.
Three fires raging in Alleghany County prompted County Administrator John Strutner to adopt an indefinite burn ban Tuesday. The Bath County Board of Supervisors adopted a 60-day burning ban at their regular April meeting Tuesday night.
The largest of those fires, called the Alleghany Tunnels Fires in western Alleghany County, is estimated to be 6,004 acres in size and as of 8 p.m. last night was reported to be only 15 percent contained. Ten structures have been protected from the flames.
“The Alleghany Tunnels Fires burned into one fire,” said VDOF District Ranger Patrick Sheridan. “Pushed by 40 mile-per-hour winds, the fire grew approximately 2,500 acres in the last 24 hours.”
Sheridan said that approximately 57 people were assigned to the fire, along with one helicopter, five engines, three UTVs, two bulldozers and 1.5 crews.
“We will continue to contain the fire that jumped the CSX railroad tracks to the south and continue dozer line construction and burnout in the west and north perimeters of the fire today,” Sheridan said.
High winds, steep terrain and a lack of precipitation have made fighting the fires, which are now burning on National Forest and private land, extremely difficult.
“The fires are difficult to access due to lack of roads and steep terrain,” Sheridan said.
The fire was reported Saturday and the cause remains under investigation.
In eastern Alleghany County, the Rich Hole Fire, which is estimated to be 1,159 acres in size, forced the closure of Interstate 64 from Exit 29 to Exit 50 late Tuesday evening.
According to a release from the Virginia Department of Transportation, a detour has been set up that routes traffic to I-81 by traveling along Route 220 through Iron Gate.
Winds that held steady near 40 mph drove the Rich Hole Fire to expand by 1,059 acres in a 24-hour period.
Sheridan said the fire jumped Interstate 64, which separates North Mountain from Brushy Mountain in eastern Alleghany County, at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
An estimated 80 percent of the fire is burning in the Rich Hole Wilderness and is also burning on private land. The blaze is currently threatening 10 structures.
“There is zero containment of the fires at this time,” said Sheridan. “Containment means fire lines are surrounding a percentage of the perimeter of a fire. There is no estimate for 100 percent containment at this point.”
The fire was reported Monday at 7 p.m. and the cause is still under investigation.
Sheridan said there were 12 firefighters, four engines and numerous volunteer firefighters working to fight the blaze.
Their plans for today included building handline and burnout areas adjacent to I-64 and establishing structure protection along the east and north portions of the fire.
“The safety of the public and firefighters will always remain our top priority,” said Sheridan.
A third fire, burning in both Alleghany and Craig counties, called the Barbours Creek Fire, has burned more than 1,500 acres and officials say that the fire has potential to scorch 3,000 acres before being controlled.
Ten structures in Alleghany and Craig counties are threatened by the blaze.
In Page County, the Shipwreck Fire has already burned more than 1,850 acres and has the potential to reach 3,000 acres before firefighters can control it.
Firefighters have protected 125 homes and structures from the fire so far.
In Shenandoah County, firefighters are fighting the Wolfe Gap Fire, a 550-acre blaze that has the potential to reach 6,000 acres before it can be brought under control.
The USDA Forest Service, Virginia Department of Forestry and area volunteer fire departments are working to battle the three blazes in Alleghany County, but they won’t be receiving any help from Mother Nature in the coming days.
No rain at all is forecasted to fall on the Highlands in the next seven days.
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning, beginning at 12 p.m. today and continuing through 8 p.m. tonight.
The warning was triggered by the combination of high gusting winds, which may reach 35 mph, and low relative humidity that makes for a high fire danger.
