[Newsleader.com] Dozens of firefighters hiked up steep mountain trails in triple-degree heat Friday, as efforts continued to contain a pair of unusual summer wildfires burning over hundreds of acres in the Shenandoah Valley.
Drivers headed into downtown Luray could see a white haze enveloping the top of Neighbor Mountain in Shenandoah National Park.
The fire on Neighbor Mountain was first reported Tuesday morning. The cause is under investigation. As of Friday afternoon, the blaze was not contained and had spread from 200 to 800 acres, said Shenandoah National Park spokeswoman Karen Beck-Herzog.
From what we could see only the underbrush is burning and not the tree canopy itself. If it stays an underbrush fire, it will be much easier to contain and will ultimately be "healthy" for the forest. If it becomes a canopy fire, then the trees themselves will die and it will become dangerous and difficult to contain.
It burned all week and is still burning as of this writing. At night there was an orange glow and you could see the fires burning. We had to reassure the Nodlings that we were in no immediate danger.
3 comments:
I'm embarrassed to say that I, too, am from the D.C. area, but I had no idea that there was a real Jellystone Park, let alone that it was nearby. I am not smarter than the average bear!
Don't worry, Lindsay. I was pretty skeptical when I first heard the name. As it happens, it's an award winning family campground that is surprisingly affordable (especially with 6 Nodlings). I "camp" in an air conditioned cabin, I leave the tent stuff to the Boy Scouts.
That sounds like good camping to me!
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