SUFFOLK
Winds from Sunday night’s storms and additional gusts on Monday caused more trouble for firefighters battling a growing spot fire in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
The original fire, which has burned more than 4,000 acres since it started June 9, was considered 100 percent contained until Friday, when a storm spread flames outside containment lines.
Monday night, the fire was 90 percent contained. A thunderstorm Sunday night did not help, and winds on Monday caused the fire to spread.
Crews tried to check the new spot fire, which grew to about 200 acres over the weekend. But winds pushed it beyond those containment efforts and extended it as much as another hundred acres, northward along the western edge of Lake Drummond, said Larry Helmerick, a spokesman for the incident command team.
“Every time we think we got it nailed shut, it opens a door,” Helmerick said.
The rains that came with the storm didn’t do much good. It dropped as little as two-tenths of an inch in some places, Helmerick said.
“We got a lot of wind and not much else,” he said.
Authorities estimated that an additional 100 acres burned between Sunday night and Monday night. The fire is still not threatening any structures, Helmerick said.
Monday night, there were 223 people from a number of agencies working to put out the Dismal Swamp fire.
Lightning from the Sunday storm likely started two small spot fires near the swamp’s southern edge in North Carolina, said Mike Petruncio, district manager for the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources.
Those fires started about five miles from the fire in the refuge, Petruncio said. Crews contained them before either grew to more than an acre, he said.
Conditions are so dry now that lightning is more of a risk to spark fires – as are fireworks, Petruncio said. He urged the public to use good judgment this week as the Fourth of July nears.
Staff writer Patrick Wilson contributed to this story.
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Bigdaddy
bigdaddy, follow your own advice and head on down to the swamp. Tell us about it all about it when you get back. Don't be so quick to offer up the help of others to do what you aren't willing to do yourself.
Typical Government
This is a typical government response. Draw down your resources all to save money. Well, how much money was saved now when you have to call everyone back?
Gotta luv it
A few days of containment, send everybody home! Just some more of that ever dwindling lack of common sense in Hampton Roads. I dunno, but it also seems if you're worried about trees falling over, then knock them down and get rid of one danger. And the flooding of the fire, how's that going? Every single day, we look more and more like Beijing, China, a filty cesspool and we smell really bad too!
Navy
Our Navy has the biggest group of professional firefighters around. Skippers lend a hand. A few OJT TAD orders can be arranged. This swamp provides some of the best wildlife watching around. It also provides some of the best deer hunting in Virginia. It is only down the street. SEE BEE's build a little camp and the sailors follow the Experts. Win Win situation. The Army can come also.
Governors office response
This is one of the fallacies I pointed out to Governor Tim Kaine's office - the dangers of drawing down resources before the fire is completely out. There is a history of winds regenerating blazes thought to be contained. The Governors office had Virginia Department of Fire Prevention Director Billy Shelton provide a explanation. In it, he said there was a jurisdiction issue with regard to the Dismal Swamp , but there is an Interagency Group in place and they were demobilizing resources needed to fight the fire. I wonder if they will now REmobilize.