ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 7, 1997 TAG: 9704070116
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY THE ROANOKE TIMES
Rain and humidity - and teams of firefighters - subdued the fire.
A wildfire that burned almost 300 acres in a remote section of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Glasgow was contained early Sunday evening.
The fire had been burning, intensely at times, since about 8:30 p.m. Saturday on the Three Sisters Ridge in the Pedlar Ranger District, near the intersection of Virginia 501 and 130. It was contained with a fire line about 5 p.m., U.S. Forest Service fire information officer Nadine Pollock said.
The fire, visible Saturday night from nearby roads, never threatened any homes or other structures. It did pose substantial problems for fire crews trying to contain the flames that burned on "steep, inaccessible terrain" between 1,200 and 1,600 feet above sea level. The fire did not spread Sunday, because of early rain and high humidity, but some "pockets of intense fire" were still visible early in the day in stands of pine trees that were recently killed by southern pine beetles, Pollock said.
"The fire is smoldering now. The diseased trees are dead and some are dry enough that they are burning. You won't see flames shooting up because there has been enough moisture to keep it [the fire] down," Pollock said.
Eighty firefighters on each shift fought the fire using bulldozers and hand tools to remove vegetation.
The Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department and passing motorists reported the fire, which was still under investigation Sunday. A cause had not been determined.
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