South One Fire Update 7/5/08 AM
Incident: South One Wildland Fire
Released: 7/5/2008
South One Fire Update
Fire Information (540) 295-0389
Hours of Operation: 0800-2000
Florida Interagency Incident Management Team
Saturday, July 5, 2008, 9 a.m.
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
4,413 acres: Additional acreage due to minimal fire spread into unburned pockets of vegetation inside fire perimeter.
Containment
90 percent
Fire Cause
The fire started in the afternoon of Monday, June 9, when logging equipment caught fire.
Resources
There are 225 people on the fire, including 3 twenty-person hand crews. Equipment includes 13 engines, 5 bulldozers, 2 water tenders, 1 Marsh Master, 1 Bombardier, 2 Geo Boy mowers, 2 Excavators, 1 Harvester Saw, and 2 helicopters.
Today's Activities
&
Fire Behavior
Light precipitation and higher relative humidity decreased fire activity last evening and should continue to bring relief to firefighters today. The Interior Ditch dam construction is now complete and flooding operations will continue in this north section of the fire. The high volume sprinkler operation along Riddick Ditch, on the eastern edge of the fire, will also continue today. Sprinklers will continue working in the southeast corner of the fire to prevent any additional spread onto the Great Dismal Swamp State Park. Brush-clearing along the northern Railroad Ditch is complete. Mulchers and hot saws will now work to clear brush southward down the West Ditch. There are still large pockets of unburned vegetation inside the fire perimeter. Once conditions dry out again, fire activity will increase. Large pockets of burning peat will continue to smolder and burn even with last night's light rain. Two helicopters will be available to support ground crews with bucket drops if necessary and to perform reconnaissance flights. Significant concerns are falling trees, erratic winds from thunderstorms, lightning, smoke on the roadways and increased holiday traffic in the fire area.
Participating Agencies & Cooperators
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia State Department 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, Suffolk Fire Rescue and the Civil Air Patrol.
Restrictions and Closures
Lake Drummond is closed. Railroad Ditch, West Ditch, Interior Ditch and Corapeake Ditch Roads are closed to the public. The area of the Refuge south of Corapeake Ditch Road is also closed. Washington Ditch and Jericho Ditch are open. All roads and trails in Dismal Swamp State Park are closed to the public; the Visitor Center remains open. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lake Drummond Reservation, part of the Canal, is closed to visitors. Contact the Corps at 757-201-7642 for more information. A temporary flight restriction is in effect up to 4,000 feet above the fire.
Fire Weather
Today's temperatures are forecasted to be 90 degrees with winds from the south- southwest at 6-10 mph, gusting up to 16 mph and minimum relative humidity 36-40%.
Smoke
Smoke will continue to impact areas downwind of the fire. Residents and travelers should use extra caution when traveling through smoke.
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. Heavy smoke has been observed along US 17 at the Virginia / North Carolina state line. Emergency managers are carefully monitoring the situation. Anyone traveling in this area should use extreme caution and watch for road closures. 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/
