Appalachian Trail Experiences Uptick in Wildfire Activity

This article originally appeared on Backpacker

A number of recent wildfires along the North Carolina and Virginia corridor prompted closures both on the Blue Ridge Parkway and on parts of the Appalachian Trail last week.

A car crash on I-40 near North Carolina’s western state line on November 16 ignited the Black Bear Fire, and it quickly grew to about 2,000 acres in size, posing a threat to the surrounding area due to high winds. As a result of the fire, officials closed the AT along the North Carolina and Tennessee border from I-40 to Brown Gap (Max Patch is currently still open).

Although heavy rains helped slow down the progress of the fire yesterday, U.S. Forest Service officials think that the reprieve will likely only last through the weekend because the region isn't expecting any additional rain for a while.

However, firefighter crews are hopeful as containment lines prevented significant growth despite high winds on Monday and Tuesday. As of Tuesday night, the fire was 79 percent contained.

Jimmy Holt, a ranger with the North Carolina Forest Service, told the AP that "it's so much better than it was a couple of days ago," noting that the area's evacuations have been lifted.

In addition to the Black Bear Fire, parts of the AT are currently under threat from the Matt's Creek Fire, which began in Virginia for unknown reasons, and spread across 10,000 acres over the course of nine days, calling about 640 fire experts and first responders to action.

Karen Miranda-Gleason, Matt's Creek Fire Public Information Officer, told Backpacker: "There's a whole mix of people here. Firefighters and all of the support that goes with that from supplies, finance, logistics, planning, fire information, incident meteorologists, fire behavior analysts, people that make digital maps. There's a whole range of skill sets that we use on wildfires, and they’re all here."

As a result of the fire, the entire James River Face Wilderness and all associated trails (including the AT) are closed until further notice.

The Matt's Creek Fire also resulted in a 20-mile closure of the Blue Ridge Parkway from mile 66.3 to mile 85.9, so firefighters to deploy fire control tactics. "We were using [the Parkway] as part of our safety line," says Miranda-Gleason. But after the regional threat subsided and the area was evaluated for danger, the parkway successfully reopened Tuesday night.

There are no residential buildings currently at risk, but heavy smoke enveloped the area, which prompted several school closures early this week.

Crews were even able to save the Matt's Creek shelter and privy after implementing tactics like using leaf blowers, pumps, and hoses to protect the area. According to the forest service's Facebook page: "During the early hours and days of the fire, firefighters used a combination of leaf blowers, hand tools, pump and hoses to successfully protect the shelter and surrounding area. Hand tools and leaf blowers were used to remove the leaf litter around the structures to create a defensible space area. Hoses were placed to wet down the whole area to keep the fire from getting too close while the fire approached."

When asked why Virginia and North Carolina are experiencing so many wildfires, Miranda-Gleason said that "it has been dry in this area, and they have not had a large fire for a long time, so inevitably the woods will burn."

As of Wednesday morning, the majority of Matt's Creek Fire is contained, thanks to firefighting efforts and much-needed rain. The fire was at 57 percent containment Tuesday night, according to Miranda-Gleason. "We do still have some open fire lines but we really don't have flames out there so we're talking about smoldering fire," she said.

Additionally, throughout parts of Virginia, this week crews switched their firefighting tactics to "mopping," which involves returning to fire areas to extinguish some remaining threats after the region received rain.

U.S. Forest Officials posted on Facebook: "Mop up consists of extinguishing or removing burning material along or near the fire control line. Techniques may include felling dead trees or moving logs so they won’t roll downhill as well as breaking up and spreading hot or burning piles of vegetation to keep embers from crossing containment lines. If available, an infrared device or thermal imager may help locate hidden hot spots."

Fire crews are assessing the region for damage today, evaluating parts of the AT in the process, including the closed section that ran through the fire area. "I know that's a big concern," Miranda-Gleason said. "We are doing some assessment on that today to see how much impact there was."

While firefighters in Virginia and parts of North Carolina and Tennessee celebrate the recent rain, hikers in the area should continue to monitor trail closures and fire threats in the area. The Black Bear Fire and the nearby Collett Ridge Fire are still active near the AT. The Collett Ridge Fire, just south of the Smokies and caused by lightning strike, has impacted more than 5,000 acres. However, as of Wednesday morning, it is 82 percent contained.

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