Thunderstorms could further spread a massive fire in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge that has grown by about 230 acres in the past three days.
Thunderstorms would seem to be the friend of firefighters, but the winds that come with them often spread fires. That’s what happened Friday, when storms and erratic winds caused the fire to spread around the southwest perimeter of Lake Drummond, in the heart of the refuge that spreads from Suffolk and Chesapeake into North Carolina.
Suffolk was hit by thunderstorms again Sunday night, and the possibility of storms looms today, according to the National Weather Service in Wakefield.
By this afternoon, the firefighting crew will have grown from about 160 three days ago to as many as 250. Today, a firefighting crew from Florida is scheduled to take command of the effort.
The fire is now within two miles of the homes closest to Lake Drummond, but there’s no immediate threat to homes, said Larry Helmerick, a spokesman for the multidepartmental command team fighting the fire.
“This fire is a historic fire, so we’re kind of in unchartered waters,” he said.
Helmerick said that the last time there was a fire of this magnitude was in the 1920s, when a fire in the Dismal Swamp burned for about three years.
Early Friday, the fire was completely contained. Now, it’s 90 percent contained and has spread to 4,065 acres in the 111,000-acre refuge.
“This is not going to be a short-term fire, I’m afraid,” Helmerick said. “This is going to impact the refuge and the communities for a while.”
Lake Drummond is closed to visitors, along with entrances at the Railroad Ditch, West Ditch, Interior Ditch and Corapeake Ditch roads.
Helmerick said it could be August before there’s the sort of rainfall – 3 to 4 inches for a couple of days – that would stagger the fire.
The fire started June 9 when logging equipment caught fire.
Among firefighters’ concerns now is keeping the fire from spreading to North Carolina.
John Warren, (757) 46-2309, john.warren@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Mark & Jim
Bye!
Mark
San Diego offers...
Nothing green, no grass to speak of, no green shrubs, trees are scarce...
You say WE have transients??? That is hilarious compared to the swarms of transients that poor across the border every day.
Crime is worse in California, hands down. Gangs and border crimes are out of control.
The seasons comment is just wrong in comparison with San Diego.
Bye.
To Jim
Jim, you have to admit...What does this area offer besides horrible traffic (including many rude drivers), transients, lots of humidity (no Spring here...just summer and some semblance of winter, flat land (like the Salt Flats), three crime ridden towns (P-Town, Newport News, Hampton)?...I'll take the fires in San Diego (or even Monterey) anytime...now those areas have a lot to offer...yes, pack your bags!
Well Mark maybe you should
Well Mark maybe you should go to California. Its pretty there and on the coast. OH they have fires burning there too along with earthquakes and then the mudslides. Not to mention the high cost of everything. There is always the central part of the country but the have alot of tornadoes there. You could head north and live with minus 40 degree temps in the winter. No matter where you go there will a problem of some sort so deal with it.
Let's all go
Let's all go to...California!
Dislike for this reason?
Still better than Tornadoes every week, forest fires every year, mudslides every year, flooding every year, blizzards every year etc etc etc.
Darn right
Amen, Mark. These yearly swamp fires are tiresome. But thank goodness Virginia is the only state that has fires. My bags are packed and ready to go. How about you?
That's just great!
More good news as usual...just another reason to dislike this part of the country...