| Terrain, Snakes Hamper Poor Mountain Fire Fighters |
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| David Grimes | |
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A brush fire along the Montgomery County/Roanoke County line on Poor Mountain continues to burn out of control at this hour. Currently, no structures have been lost or destroyed and no structures are in danger.
“As of 10 a.m. this morning (Friday), 225 acres have burned or is currently burning,” said David Cooper, of the Virginia Department of Forestry and incident commander. Hand crews totally 30 volunteers and Department of Forestry personnel from Carroll, Pulaski and Montgomery Counties are currently working on containment lines. “Seventy-five percent of the containment lines are completed,” said Cooper. “ Containment lines when completed will encompass 890 acres, with bulldozers scraping eight foot wide lines to bare mineral soil and hand crews scraping 3 to 4 feet wide.” Cooper went on to say that firefighting efforts are being hampered by steep terrain, high humidity and excessive heat. “There are 50 percent slopes, which are rocky and rough and have elevations ranging from 2100 to 3600 feet. Plus we have run in to several rattlesnake pits,” added Cooper. In addition to the firefighters on the scene, crews also have the help of two helicopters to aid them in their suppression efforts by dropping water. Bedford County volunteers and other DOF wildfire crews are on standby. Two Job Corp crews, one from southwest Virginia and the other one from North Carolina, are expected to arrive on Saturday. Cooper expects 100 percent of the “Containment Lines” to be finished by Sunday and they estimate to have the fire under control by Tuesday. There has been a air quality warning advising those with health problems to stay indoors. Also, VDOT is warning motorists of low visibility on the I-81 and Rt. 460 corridor between Christiansburg and Dixie Caverns. The fire along the mountain started following a thunderstorm Tuesday evening. Elliston Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fire at 12:14 p.m. on Wednesday and eventually reached the fire at 3:45 p.m. Click here to see additional photos of the Poor Mountain Fire in our photo gallery. Photos by Larry Middleton
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