South One Fire July 21 Update
Incident: South One Wildfire
Released: 7/21/2008
South One Fire Update
Fire Information: (757) 986-2846 (0800-1800)
or (304) 516-9682 (1800-2000)
Hours of Operation: 0800-2000
Monday, July 21, 2008, 0945
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 108 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, 1 Geoboy, and 1 helicopter
Today's Activities
&
Fire Behavior
Yesterday, Tropical Storm Cristobal failed to place any significant precipitation on the fire. Fire behavior increased yesterday, with large amounts of smoke emitting from within and along the edge of the existing fire perimeter. With the projected hot and dry conditions, the fire will likely remain active and produce smoke today and tomorrow. Smoke and fog mixing may prove hazardous for travelers in the area. Firefighters will continue today to flood the fire perimeter with water from Lake Drummond and to patrol and mop up along the entire fire edge today. Mop up will continue on the new small fire that was observed on July 12 south of Corapeake Ditch Road. Crews hope to increase the containment of the fire this week to prevent any additional fire spread. 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 and Jericho Ditch 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 Engineer 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.
TFR: The temporary flight restriction over the South One Fire has been lifted. In the interest of safety, any aircraft wishing to fly into the fire area is urged to notify "Air Attack" on radio frequency 136.400 at 12 miles out. Aircraft pilots can also call ahead and notify Air Operations at (804)249-0919.
Fire Weather
Today's maximum temperature will be around 96 degrees with winds from the northeast at 5-11 mph. Minimum relative humidity today will be 39%. Today will be sunny. No precipitation is forecasted.
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/
