Firefighters Still Battling St. Mary’s Blaze|ABC 13

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Firefighters Still Battling St. Mary’s Blaze

posted 9:51 pm Sat March 29, 2008 - Augusta Co., VA

reporter: Manuel Quinones posted by: Amy Hultstrand

tags: fire • burn • blaze • flames

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ABC 13 - Firefighters Still Battling St. Mary’s Blaze

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Firefighters now have about 65 percent of the wildfire contained in the St. Mary's Wilderness Area, but more than 4, 000 acres are still burning. The rugged terrain has made it hard for firefighters.

They call it mopping up. Firefighters were busy putting out hotspots and cleaning areas that were once in flames. They were also busy starting new controlled fires to eliminate potential fuel. From the air they threw balls like these to ignite sections of the forest. The manpower of Federal, state and local firefighters is significant.

Chris Rose, US Forest Service - "It's a relatively large force."

From incident command to folks on the ground, firefighters' efforts are helping keep area residents safe.

Wanda Schemehorm, Area Resident - "Oh they did an excellent job."

Backburning prevented fires from getting too close to homes around the town of Vesuvius.

Schemehorm - "It's all burned back already. It really cleaned things up a lot. All the brush, things like that, dead trees."

Firefighters say the lower winds and colder temperatures are helping, but the rugged terrain and remote location are a big challenge.

Rose - "This has been a very difficult fire. Earlier in the week we had high temperature and high winds which helped fuel the fire. Complicating that, the fire started in the wilderness area. Very few trails and no roads permitted."

Even after things settle down, folks should not be surprised to see at least some smoke. Firefighters say this fire will be smoldering for a while. Crews have re-opened the Blue Ridge Parkway and Route 56. Still, they are asking people to be careful in case of any debris.

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