ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512250011
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SERIES: A look back at 1995 - Whatever happened to ...
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
ALTHOUGH THE WOODS in Craig County grew back from last spring's forest fires, neighbors are still nervous and the Forest Service is still searching for the arsonist.
Vernon Allie Jr. gets pretty angry these days when he sees someone flick a cigarette butt out a car window.
And Malvin Huffman made extra sure to rake the leaves well away from his house this fall.
These two Craig County men know what one small mistake, one errant spark, can do to a dry forest. Images of last spring's fires that raged through 5,400 acres of woodland are burned into their memories.
"That's the closest I've had one," says Huffman, recalling the flames that crept within a few hundred feet on either side of his home on Virginia 311, where he has lived for 35 years.
"I just done rigged up the hose so we could water the house," he says. "It was kind of scary. I have to admit that."
On April 8, three separate fires flared up on national forest land in Craig County. Hundreds of firefighters and support people from around the country - from specialized "hot shot" crews to meteorologists and cooks - pitched in with local volunteers to battle the blaze for four days.
Near-drought conditions last spring, along with fallen branches from the 1994 ice storm, created perfect conditions for a rip-roaring toaster.
No one was injured and no buildings were lost, although dozens of homes along Virginia 621 were threatened.
"It almost burned my mailbox," Allie says. Although his trailer didn't burn, he built a new home on the spot where his trailer stood last spring. "I wouldn't take anything from where I live.''
More people are building homes in remote spots of scenic counties like Craig, increasing the risk of property loss when fire does strike, officials say. Since April's blaze, local officials have been on a public education crusade to alert people to the dangers of unattended campfires, smoldering cigarette butts, and other potential fire starters.
The Craig County fire charred hiking trails, hunting spots, timber and picturesque views. Although the fire is devastating right now to people who enjoy those resources, it already has spurred a regeneration of forest life, says Steve Croy, ecologist for the George Washington and Jefferson national forests.
"A lot of plants have sent up new shoots this year," he says. Young table mountain pines, which need intense heat to burst their cones, have grown knee high.
Oaks that were left dead at the top have sprouted 4-foot saplings from their roots, and huckleberries and blueberries are coming on strong, Croy says.
The lush new growth attracts deer, he notes, and made for good hunting this season and will provide good berry-picking come summer.
While the woodlands recover, Woody Lipps is still in pursuit of the person or people responsible for starting the fires. The Forest Service law enforcement officer says the fires on Bald Mountain and Potts Mountain were arson.
"I'm a little less optimistic than I was that first week," Lipps says, but he continues to work on the case almost every day. The Forest Service is still offering $5,000 to anyone with information leading to the conviction of people responsible, he says.
Arson on federal land is a felony, punishable by up to $10,000 in fines and 10 years in prison. The criminal also would have to pay the cost of putting out the fires - almost $2 million, Lipps says.
"So they'd have to win the lottery for us to collect," he says. About 5 percent of the arson cases investigated by the Forest Service in Western Virginia end up with convictions, he estimates.
But that doesn't discourage Lipps. Acting on a recent tip, he has revived a case from 1989 of a forest fire near Paint Bank.
"We never forget."
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. File/1995. The Craig County fire charred hikingby CNBtrails and picturesque views. 2. File/1995. The blaze already has
spurred a regeneration of forest life. color.