South One Fire Update, July 19 2008
Incident: South One Wildfire
Released: 7/19/2008
South One Fire Update
Fire Information: (757) 986-2846 (0800-1800)
or (304) 516-9682 (1800-2000)
Hours of Operation: 0800-2000
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Current Status
The South One Fire is burning in fallen Atlantic White Cedar and logging slash remnants from Hurricane Isabel, on the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge 12 miles southeast of Suffolk, Virginia.
Acreage
4,664 acres
Containment
95 percent
Fire Cause
The fire started in the afternoon of Monday, June 9, when logging equipment caught fire.
Resources
There are 108 personnel on the fire, including 2 twenty-person hand crews.
Equipment includes: 5 engines, 2 bulldozers, 2 Marsh Masters, 1 Bombardier, 1 Excavator,
1 Harvester Saw, 1 Geoboy, and 1 helicopter
Today's Activities
&
Fire Behavior
Fire behavior increased yesterday, with new areas of fire emitting smoke from within the existing fire perimeter. Fire activity within the existing perimeter was, however, moderate with active flame seen in both the northern and southern sections of the fire. Flame lengths of up to five feet have been observed in timbered areas. The interior section of the fire may produce smoke today and is expected to continue to do so tomorrow. Smoke and fog mixing may prove hazardous for travelers in the area. Firefighters will continue tomorrow to flood the fire perimeter with water from Lake Drummond and to patrol and mop up along the entire fire edge today. Mop up will continue on the new small fire that was observed last Saturday south of Corapeake Ditch Road. Crews hope to increase the containment of the fire throughout this week and to prevent any additional fire spread. Weather conditions will be a major factor in keeping the fire from actively burning again.
Participating Agencies & Cooperators
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia State Department of Forestry, Florida Division of Forestry, The Nature Conservancy, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources, Dismal Swamp State Park, Chesapeake Fire Rescue, and Suffolk Fire Rescue.
Restrictions and Closures
Portions of the Refuge are closed to the public including: Lake Drummond, Railroad Ditch, West Ditch, Interior Ditch and Corapeake Ditch Roads. The area of the Refuge south of Corapeake Ditch Road is also closed. Washington Ditch and Jericho Ditch are open. The Dismal Swamp State Park has opened a portion of the Canal Trail, from the Visitor's Center to Kim Saunders Road. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Lake Drummond Reservation part of the Canal has reopened to visitors; however, boating access to Lake Drummond is still closed. Contact the Corps at 757-201-7642 for more information.
TFR: The temporary flight restriction over the South One Fire has been lifted. In the interest of safety, any aircraft wishing to fly into the fire area is urged to notify "Air Attack" on radio frequency 136.400 at 12 miles out. Aircraft pilots can also call ahead and notify Air Operations at (804)249-0919.
Fire Weather
Today's maximum temperature will be around 90 degrees with winds from the southeast at 5-8 mph. Minimum relative humidity today will be 49%. A slight chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms is forecast.
Smoke
A mixture of smoke and fog in the fire area could cause visibility issues in the evenings and mornings. Drivers are urged to be extremely cautious and travel with their low beam lights on.
Other Fire Information
Suffolk Saturday bus tours of the refuge are cancelled until further notice. On the Refuge, Jericho Ditch, Washington Ditch, and Portsmouth Ditch roads are open to the public. Speed limit on Desert Road near Refuge headquarters is 35 mph due to heavy fire traffic. Further information on the Great Dismal Swamp can be found at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp/; more fire information at http://www.inciweb.org/
