Final Update, South One Fire, July 25, 2008
Incident: South One Wildfire
Released: 7/25/2008
FINAL UPDATE
South One Fire Update
Fire Information: (304) 516-9682
Hours of Operation: 0800-2000
Friday, July 25, 2008, 0930
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 88 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, and 1 Geoboy.
Projected Activities
&
Fire Behavior
Fire behavior resumed yesterday after Wednesday's rains on northern perimeter and in and around unburned interior pockets. No new precipitation was received on Thursday. Lightning from Wednesday's thunderstorms may have ignited new starts. Operations today and into the near term will focus on continued flooding operations north and south of Interior Ditch with high volume pumps. Crews will mop up several hotspots along South Ditch and Riddick Ditch. Aerial and ground based detection patrols will start to look for new lightning starts. Weather conditions will be a major factor in keeping the fire inside the existing perimeter.
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 Road and Jericho Ditch Road 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 Engineers 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.
Fire Weather
Today will be moistly sunny with a high near 90. Minimum relative humidity will be 40%. Winds will be out of the east and will be light in the morning but increasing to 5-9 mph in the afternoon.
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/
