A fire investigator from the Virginia Department of Forestry arrived at the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday to begin an investigation of the blaze, a refuge official said.
"We want to do a thorough investigation," refuge manager Chris Lowie said.
The fire apparently began when logging equipment caught fire June 9. Carson Helicopters Inc. was finishing up a 1,110-acre clearing project to remove trees damaged by Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
A spokesman for the Oregon-based company has said none of its equipment has caught fire in nearly four decades in the timber-removing business.
It is unclear how long the investigation could take or whether penalties could result, Lowie said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would decide whether the company could return to the refuge once the fire is extinguished, he said. "That's the last thing on my mind right now."
The fire did not grow significantly Tuesday, with more than 2,700 acres burning. About 250 acres of that was a controlled burn, said Wayne Johnson, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. Containment grew from 20 to 23 percent.
Meanwhile, the North Carolina wildfire, which has slowed in growth, was estimated to be 70 percent contained Tuesday - up from 60 percent.
However, officials don't expect that number to grow much more in the near future.
"We will probably not go much above that until we get a tropical storm-type situation," said Dean McAlister, a spokesman from the incident command center.
Water-pumping operations continued Tuesday around the 62-square-mile blaze. Firefighters are pulling million of gallons of water per hour from lakes, then flooding areas of the fire.
Personnel dropped significantly, estimated at 335 by Tuesday evening. That was down from 514 Monday and 570 over the weekend.
McAlister said the drop is attributed to a scaled-back volunteer presence. Those firefighters were primarily focused on keeping the fire from attacking structures.
"The threat of that occurring is pretty well over," he said.
Federal money is being spent to battle the Dismal Swamp blaze, which took more than 360 people to fight Tuesday, Lowie said.
A quarter inch of rain Monday night dampened some areas of the refuge but did little for thick trees and brush, said Catherine Hibbard, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman. And the winds before the storm actually caused the fire to spread, with a 20-acre spot fire breaking out Tuesday morning.
Still, "things are looking really good," Lowie said. "We are getting control of this fire. Firefighters are really holding the lines."
The area where the fire began did not burn deeply into the ground and is "not even smoldering," Lowie said. "I was just so relieved... the fire is out in some places."
He reiterated what North Carolina officials have said of the flames there - fire isn't all bad.
"It's always been a part of the history," Lowie said, and clears the way for new growth. "It may diversify the habitat, which creates better ecosystem health. Things are going survive. Animals are going to be OK."
Staff writers Cindy Clayton and Ryan Hutchins contributed to this report.
Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5555, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com
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How to prevent swamp fires
Perhaps plugging the ditches that drain the swamp and dry out the peat soils so they are combustible would help. I saw the juniper in Dismal before Isabel blew it down. The soil had subsided 24 inches from ditching and drainage leaving that much of the roots exposed. Made the trees real easy to blow down. Fire would have happened either way because of the fuel buildup. I'm surprised the fire wasn't worse considering the massive amount of combustibles there.
UnionMan
WOW AGAIN !!
Cannot compete with Bullwinkle!!
Inthecountry
Thanks for the info about Juniper, but the rude way you present it shows defensiveness. Are you from the Refuge?
Looks like the Incident Response Team has set up a website. Look at what they say:
"The South One Fire is burning in fallen White Atlantic Cedar and logging slash on the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge 12 miles southeast of Suffolk, Virginia."
"The fire started in the afternoon of Monday, June 9, when logging equipment caught fire."
The logger was at fault. The "slash" is providing fuel for the fire. Looks like you're wrong, again.
I talked with a firefighter on Sunday who told me that the the fire spread quickly after hitting the cutover with nothing to stop it. We have met the enemy, and it is the tactics of the Refuge. Read the CCP about clearcutting, and Cedar.
UnionMan remarks
As a young person growing up in the southern part of Suffolk, Woods fires in the swamp were an occuring event every summer. Your comments concerning the Atlantic White Cedar are misleading and shows that you have no knowledge concerning the swamp. "Juniper" as we call it, does not rot as it has decay resistance and is probably one of the top three in that category behind Redwood. We that own land in swamp and where raised along it's borders know how unique this area is.
Read history of the swamp and you will find that this was the largest producer of cedar shigles on the east coast.
As far as the logging of the trees, they could have stayed there another 5 years with minimal loss. Don't blame the logger, he was cleaning up behind an act of God!
To Mark
I agree that loggers don't always cause forest fires, but in the present case, their presence and the spark they created helped. In 1993, a fire a quarter mile from me was caused by lightning but it occurred right after loggers had clearcut the area, making it way too easy for that fire to spread. It stopped at my woods because of their thickness and also my vigilance. Selective cutting would be so much better for the land, but try and tell that to local loggers, who answer that it wastes time, and they want all the trees. Does greed come in there, somewhere?
It has been 5 years since Hurricane Isabel, and the blowdowns in my woods have termites. I suppose you would have me believe there are no termites in the swamp's trees?
Logging and fires
If one looks at all the causes of wildfires across the country, one finds that logging is way down the list. Out west, lightning and careless use of fire are the primary causes. All those people that toss their cigarettes out the windown instead of using that thing called an ashtray? There is one great cause. People not putting out their campfires is another. Loggers hate forest fires more than anyone else: the trees that burn up are what they make their livelihood from. As dangerous as logging is, it is still safer and much more pleasant that fighting any forest fire. Heaven help you if you get caught by a logger tossing burning material out the window of your vehicle out west: there's a very good chance you'll be spitting out teeth and tree bark for a week! Take it from a 33 year forester's son: loggers do not at all like forest fires and do what they can to prevent them.
UnionMan
I cannot agree with you on this. Blow down trees can be marketable as pulp logs for making paper, or even wood products if there isn't too much rot or if bugs haven't gotten to them.
As for the logging, logging does not cause fires and clearcutting, when you have areas of blow down, is the best way to clear the land and prevent other trees from getting diseased from the damaged trees. People treat clearcutting as always being something terrible to do. It isn't IF it is handled properly. Selective logging (cutting selected trees and leaving others) can be effective if the ground doesn't get torn up too much, weakening the root structure of the trees. Clearcutting, while not pretty, can effectively remove damaged or diseased trees and open up areas for easier human reforestation. Also, clearcut areas have been proven to be great for animal life as they provide fodder with the brush that iniatially grows in.
On the Fireline
Living so close to the fire has its advantages, though. We seldom get the smoke you city people get. Our brain gets plenty of oxygen so we are able to think clearly without the need of government programs to help our thinking.
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
It's obvious you comedians haven't read the comprehensive plan, and none of you are facing possible loss of your homes. As one who has seen the effects of clearcut logging for the last 20+ years in Suffolk, surrounding counties and NC, all it takes is one spark to set off a fire, and this is the biggest forest fire Suffolk, or the Dismal Swamp has ever seen, all because somebody thought it would be a great idea to return the swamp back to how it was in George Washington's day.
falconski, falconski, falconski...
...you're forgetting the US government's downing of the World Trade Centers, the missile that hit the Pentagon, fluoride in our water to sterilize us and the end of the world in 2012.
I'm sorry my friend, but I must you insist you listen to 48 hours of Alex Jones without interruption!
Definitely a conspiracy
Can there be any doubt that the same government conspirators that put the second gunman on the grassy knoll are the same one's that started this fire in order to kill Al Gore with a heart attack? And don't forget all those fake lunar landings that were filmed in a hollywood studio. All the same people.
Yes, it's a conspiracy
The first poster who apparently owns property near by...yes, it's all a conspiracy.
Fire, Fire everywhere...
I'm on the Left Coast now, and these fires are greatly enhanced by the refusal of the Peoples's Republic of CA to allow for controlled burns of underbrush. It doesn't seem to be the case here, but should at least be a considered policy in times of drought - like the last several years in HR.
How Did It Start?
Chris Lowie said it, “Fire isn’t all bad because of the growth it promotes.” We surrounding property owners don't share that view.
Google for the Refuge's Comprehensive Conservation Plan and search for "fire" and "Cedar" and see how many times you find them together. It was this plan that caused this fire. Loggers were the catalyst. If it hadn't been the plan to clearcut other trees so the Atlantic White Cedar could be planted in their place, we wouldn't be seeing this conflagration because clearcutting leaves lots of combustible material on the forest floor to fuel fires. It only needs is a spark.
Talk all you want about removing hurricane damaged trees, but there is no market for blow downs and standing dead trees filled with termites, but there is for freshly cut hardwood trees. Dry conditions and clearcutting logging operations are like improperly stored explosives.