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Debris fire burns 125 acres on Powell Mountain in Scott County

Published November 9th, 2009 | 0 Comments

DUFFIELD — An out-of-control debris fire threatened several homes in Scott County and caused 125 acres of forest to burn Sunday on the south side of Powell Mountain near Pattonsville.

The Virginia Department of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service and Duffield Volunteer Fire Department spent nearly 10 hours fighting the blaze, which began about 2 p.m.

The fire started near the Scott County line on Dry Creek Road and spread up the side of the mountain toward Highway 58. Crews were able to save five homes in the area, the closest being just over 100 yards away from the eastern edge of the fire.

Steve Counts, fire coordinator for the VDF’s Abingdon district, said the Powell Mountain blaze was the largest of seven fires that occurred in different areas of the state over the weekend.

“It was a pretty bad fire by it being the size it was and the fact that homes were threatened,” Counts said. “We take it very serious any time we have a fire of this size occur.”

Under Virginia law, those found responsible for debris fires that get out of control could be required to pay suppression costs.

While multiple fires are not unusual for this time of year, Counts said the fire on Powell Mountain was abnormally large for the season due to several factors, including low humidity and high winds with unseasonably warm temperatures.

“This is a larger than normal fire. We usually keep them at 10 acres or less,” he said. “What caused this one to be bigger is that it was in such difficult terrain. They put in a couple of control lines, but the fire jumped across. They just had a lot of control issues trying to get a line that could hold.”

Most of the difficulty fighting the blaze occurred in its western edge, closest to Lee County.

Although the fire was suppressed just before midnight Sunday, Counts said firefighters returned Monday with a Department of Corrections work crew to complete any additional work or cleanup that needed to be done.

“We’ve got crews back on it today on mop-up and making sure the fire lines are in good shape,” Counts said. “They’ll take care of any hot spots left over and make sure that there’s no threats to the control lines we put in place.”

Counts said similar fires can be avoided by taking simple precautions, like waiting for a substantial rain before burning brush or debris.

“If they do have to burn, they need to make sure they have at least 30 feet cleared all the way around it and that they have tools with them and a water source if they need it,” Counts said. “The other thing is to check the weather and make sure there’s not going to be any wind.”

So far this year, 136 fires have burnt 3,388 acres in the Abingdon district. No homes or structures have been damaged.

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