http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=3740839
Rain needed as fires scorch much of Lee County
Published 03/13/2007 By WALTER LITTRELL
ROSE HILL - With a helicopter, three bulldozers, two brush trucks, a number of volunteer firemen and 28 professional firefighters on the scene of a 620-acre wildfire near Rose Hill, officials with the Virginia Department of Forestry were eagerly anticipating the arrival of Mother Nature to help contain a blaze that crosses Stone Mountain and extends, in places, into Kentucky.
Russell Proctor, incident commander for the VDF, said Tuesday the fire began Sunday afternoon near the intersection of Routes 58 and 673. Because workers have been busy trying to extinguish the flames, the cause has yet to be determined.
As of Tuesday, firefighters had approximately 620 acres contained in fire lines, and Proctor was hopeful those lines, from which crews hoped to set backfires, would continue to contain the blaze. The men intended to start those backfires sometime after 6 p.m. - after the lines were extended and deepened - but without rain, Proctor said "it could be a couple more days before the fire is totally out."
Crews were planning on spending the night on Stone Mountain manning the fire lines.
With four other fires burning in Lee County, Proctor said firefighting resources are stretched thin, and he's hoping the promised scattered showers fall on at least some of the fires.
"We had two large fires going on Sunday when this one came in. Today we have three in Blackwater and one in Fairview. Our resources are stretched to the limit now, and we sure could use some rain," he said.
Proctor said the department utilized the Thomas Walker volunteers for structure protection on Sunday and Monday when the danger was the greatest for about a dozen homes in the area, and he praised the volunteers for their invaluable assistance.
"They have been a tremendous help to us on this fire," he said.
With so many fires in the county, Proctor said the department is using all its full-time firefighters, all its part-time workers, and crews have been brought in from across the state to help deal with the various blazes. Crews have been sent to Lee County from Washington County, Pulaski County, and even from the eastern part of the state, he said. Scott County personnel have been assigned to assist Lee County crews in the Blackwater area, where fires have scorched upwards of 2,600 acres already this fire season, he said. Those fires were under control but still being monitored on Tuesday, he said.
According to other forestry officials on the scene at the Rose Hill fire, approximately 4,000 acres have burned in Lee County alone this season, with the largest fires being the one in Rose Hill and several in Blackwater. There have been a total of 15 fires in Lee County and 114 across the Southwest Virginia region, but a total acreage of damage was not available.
The cause of some of the fires has yet to be determined, but several are believed to be due to arson, while others are escaped debris fires.
Forestry officials note that the Southwest Virginia region is in an extremely dry condition, with rainfall several inches below normal for this time of year. They encourage residents to obey the 4 p.m. burning law, meaning open fires are not permitted before 4 p.m. or after midnight, and even to wait until after a good rain falls before burning if possible.
