St. Mary’s Fire Continues to Burn|ABC 13

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St. Mary’s Fire Continues to Burn

posted 12:07 am Sat March 29, 2008 - Augusta Co., VA

reporter: Margaret Clevenstine posted by: Tim Gibson

tags: fire • forest • burn • blaze

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Fire officials say in no way is the forest fire contained or controlled in Augusta County. At last check on Friday, at least 3500 acres have burned in the St. Mary's wilderness area.

The good news is that the fire is still not threatening any homes or structures, but it's closing roads and causing concern.

Fire is the last thing many Vesuvius residents want to see.

Kitty Cash, Vesuvius Resident - "A lot of people are concerned."

Some of the plumes of smoke and shooting flames are on purpose. They’re part of a backfire lit to help contain the St. Mary blaze.

Cash - I feel like we're in good hands these guys know what they're doing and I'm going to trust them."

Al McPherson, Fire Information Officer - "We used fire to fight the fire, we used a cool back fire along route 56."

Crews shut down Route 56 to the Blue Ridge Parkway to allow for easy access to homes in case the fire got out of hand and helicopters to drop water.

McPherson - "We had structure protection all up and down 56."

Friday night, residents were invited to a community meeting with forestry officials to get the latest information. Officials have also gone door to door.

Cash - "He said he'd give us plenty of time if we needed to evacuate."

When you live in a town called Vesuvius, you better be ready for a natural disaster.

Cash - "A lot of people have been teasing about Vesuvius has really been living up to its name and I said 'I won't be worried until I see lava flowing.'"

Fire officials say they did have some luck today. They avoided the thunderstorms which would have been hazardous for crews, and the southwest flow kept the wind blowing in the right direction.

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