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Buffalo Mountain Update: Fire Spread To About 1000 Acres
Friday, May 09, 2008 - 08:35 AM
BY George A. Jackson IV Send e-mailNews Channel 11 |
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Printer FriendlyUpdated at 6:50 a.m., Friday
Terry Bowerman, a Ranger with the Cherokee National Forest, clarified his statements in a second telephone interview. He talked with News Channel 11's Josh Smith just after 6:30 a.m.
Bowerman said his crews have control lines all the way around the fire on Buffalo Mountain. He hopes fires behind these lines will burn themselves out.
Click here to hear about Buffalo Mountain fire home and health concerns
Updated at 5:55 a.m., Friday
News Channel 11 spoke with Terry Bowerman, a Ranger with the Cherokee National Forest, just after 5:30 a.m. He said 75 firefighters would resume laying fire lines at 7:00 a.m.
He could not offer an exact count on how many acres were on fire, but estimates the figure is between 900 and 1000.
Emergency crews have three bulldozers and two helicopters at their disposal.
Rain showers on Thursday night helped slow the fire down, but did not put it out, Bowerman said. Dead pine trees on Buffalo Mountain could present the biggest challenge Friday, he said.
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Updated at 12:58 p.m., Thursday
Emergency crews are fighting a wildfire spreading across Northeast Tennessee.
It started Wednesday on Buffalo Mountain. The fire site is near Johnson City and straddles Washington and Unicoi Counties.
The fire has spread to more than 100 acres. Crews closed Dry Creek Road around 1:00pm because of dead trees falling near the road. Buffalo Mountain Park is also closed.
Fire crews told News Channel 11's Amber Miller no homes are bring threatened at this time.
Johnson City called in the Hotshots from Asheville, North Carolina to lend a hand. Homeowners have also created their own fire lines.
Your Tri-Cities News Source is back on the fire lines today. We'll have team coverage and live reports today at 5 and 6.
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Updated at 6:00 a.m., Thursday
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Original Posting by News Channel 11's Darius Radzius.
A fire burns out of control in the Tri-Cities according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire has scorched about 100 acres on Buffalo Mountain. That's adjacent to Johnson City straddling the Washington County and Unicoi County line.
Forest fires clearly have a schedule of their own, ignoring the fire season which ended last week.
"From what I heard, we have this one here. There's one in Coche County and another in some other county," said Don Palmer with the U.S. Forest Service.
More than a dozen firefighters have been on Buffalo Mountain since early Wednesday morning. Specialized firefighters called Hotshots from Asheville, North Carolina, came in to help out late in the afternoon.
"It's really difficult rocky terrain. They're getting lines in but with rolling rocks and snags it's going to cross the lines," said Palmer.
Snags are burning trees that fall across fire lines. When that happens they have to fall back and make another fire line. Firefighters call this is a relatively small fire.
"If you're home is somewhere in that area it's a real major fire," said Palmer.
Bill Hicks' home is one that's right below.
"Down about I'd say 100 yards. Maybe 120,” Hicks said.
He saw the smoke from the interstate and became worried as he got closer.
"Then the closer I got over there next to the hospital and then I really saw how big it was. I just. Phew!" said Hicks.
When Hicks and his neighbors got home from work, they went back to work in the woods with rakes in hand. Trying to make their own fire line with hopes the fire won't cross it toward their homes.
"It's helped quite a bit up through there and we're going to keep on going down through there," said Hicks.
The U.S. Forest Service says there was no lightening and the fire started near a trail, so they believe it has a human source. They just don't know if it was an accident or intentional.
The search for the cause continues. When darkness fell, the rough terrain forced the firefighters off the mountain. One crew will remain overnight where the fire is closest to some homes. They don't feel the homes are in danger. No one has been evacuated.
