June 21, 2002
Rockbridge Weekly

Marble Yard Wildfire Still Source of Concern

3000 Acres Consumed In Three Area Fires To Date

By Sarah Jane Deacon

Rockbridge Weekly Reporter

The United States Forestry Service continues to monitor the sites of three wildfires in the Rockbridge County area this week. While two of the fires, known as the Chicken and Kennedy fires are 100% contained and being monitored through aerial recon missions, another fire called the Marble yard Fire near Natural Bridge has consumed approximately 2208 acres. The fire is considered 80% contained at this time.

Throughout the week, crews have been moved from the Chicken and Kennedy fires to the Marble yard Fire until over 200 persons are fighting the blaze. Two dozers, three engines and four air units are supporting the efforts.

The James River Face Wilderness in which the fire is located is 5 miles south of Natural Bridge, and has a closure order in place due to the fire. Portions of the Petit Gap Road and the Appalachian Trail are closed at this time as are three other hiking trails and a horse trail that go through the area. Shuttle buses are providing transportation to hikers on the Appalachian Trail. The Blue Ridge Parkway remains open but those traveling on it may experience delays due to smoke.

Two residences are within 500 feet of the containment line but no structures outside of the wilderness area have been damaged.

Containment is not expected before June 19 but crews may be in the area for several weeks until the fire is completely extinguished. Considered the most dangerous for fire fighters because of the terrain and stands of the beetle killed pine, four fire fighters battling the Marbleyard fire were evacuated on Monday. One of the four experienced a reaction to an insect bite. The other three were treated for smoke inhalation.

The Buena Vista and Fairfield Volunteer Fire Departments continue to assist with the containment efforts as do individuals from nine states including Virginia.

June 24, 2002
The News Gazette

'Marbleyard' Tough To Handle

Smoke from the fire was augmented by smoke from a "burn-out" or backfire set by firefighters Tuesday to contain the main fire, tainting the air as far away as Lexington and Buena Vista, a potent reminder of the conflagration further south in Rockbridge County.

The fire, caused by a lightning strike near the Devils Marbleyard, a boulder-strewn hillside in the James River Face Wilderness, was first detected June 5. Over the last two weeks the fire grew rapidly from a relatively minor, 20-acre burn with a few smoldering hot spots to a major fire requiring the attention of firefighting crews from eight states and Puerto Rico.

Another fire also detected June 5 in the Irish Creek area was completely contained by last Tuesday, after burning 768 acres.

Complicating firefighting efforts in what officials termed the "Marbleyard Complex" is the area's steep and rocky terrain and its hardwood forests previously defoliated by pine bark beetles and gypsy moths. Recent high temperatures and low humidity were also factors.

By Tuesday morning, officials at the firefighters' incident command post off U.S. 60 east of Buena Vista reported 2,208 acres burned, with more acres being burned as firefighters conducted the burn out in an area between the main fire and the James River. By late Tuesday afternoon, the burn out was completed and called by officials "a success." The acreage of the fire had grown to about 3,000 acres by Wednesday morning.

Officials described the fire as 90 percent contained on Wednesday, and said that the fire would be completely contained by tomorrow, Thursday. It could take several weeks to control the fire.

Explaining the difference between "containing" and "controlling" a fire, Donna Wilson, a public relations officer at the command post, said that containment means that there is a line all around the fire, as though there is a fire in a jar which, because of the glass barrier, cannot get out. Controlling a fire, said Wilson, means that "the lid is down on the jar. The fire's out."

Two residences off Cedar Bottom Road east of Arnolds Valley Road were earlier considered by officials as threatened by the fire, but by Tuesday the houses were reported safe and no evacuations took place. The houses are located within 500 feet of the western flank containment line around the fire.

Petites Gap Road, near the southwestern boundary of the fire, has been closed from its intersection with Va. 759, Arnolds Valley Road, to Petites Gap. Also, all trails in the James River Face Wilderness have been closed for public safety, including the Appalachian Trail from Petites Gap to the James River, and the Sulphur Spring, Belfast, Gunter Ridge and Horse trails. Shuttles are being provided for through-hikers on the AT around the closed area. Shuttle hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Blue Ridge Parkway remains open, with possible smoke delays.

On Tuesday, resources and equipment fighting the fire included nine 20-person crews, one 12-person crew, two bulldozers, five two-person saw teams, three fire engines, one water tender, two medium and one light helicopter and one fixed-wing air attack plane.

Firefighters are staying in area motels and are being served two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, at the National Guard Armory on Greenhouse Road. The meals are catered by a Johnson City, Tenn., catering service which specializes in feeding meals to firefighting crews. Lunch is brought out to the crews on the fire lines by runners from the incident command post.

The firefighters are divided between two shifts, what Wilson called a "normal" 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift, and a swing shift of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Patrols are also carried out at night.

Tuesday's firefighting efforts focused on burning out the remaining fuel within the fire lines with an aerial ignition operation. Forest Service information officer Frank R. Beum said that in such an operation helicopters fly over the targeted area carrying a supply of ping pong-like balls filled with potassium permanganate. The balls are injected with glycol just before being dropped to the ground and take about 20 seconds to begin to smolder.

Beum said that the burn out, or back fire, will not only prevent the main fire from burning out of control but also will hasten the process of controlling it.

"With the forest fires burning in Colorado, resources are stretched thin," said Beum, since firefighters and other resources are pooled nationally.

Four firefighters were evacuated from the fire line Monday, one because of a reaction to a bee sting and three from smoke inhalation. One of the firefighters who suffered from smoke inhalation was still in the hospital Wednesday morning. Another firefighter was evacuated from the fire Tuesday for second-degree burns to one hand.