Fire Still Blazing
By Lauren Gregory, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.
Mar. 27–State and federal foresters continue their fight today against the Signal Mountain blaze that has burned more than 300 acres of woodland and caused local officials to declare an air pollution alert.
“We’re trying to mop up and wrap up the eastern side of (Middle Creek) where it’s bumping the community there,” said Robert Rhinehart, assistant forester for the Southeast Tennessee district of the state Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry.
Officials spent much of Monday creating a fire line at Middle Creek, which helped prevent the fire from spreading to the residential areas on the opposite side of the bank. Though the danger to residents has been averted, foresters plan to continue monitoring that barrier today as they begin their attack on fire that has traveled into the Suck Creek area, Mr. Rhinehart said.
The Forestry Division’s crew of 24 from Hixson has been joined by a six-person crew from the Greeneville, Tenn., district, another six-person crew from the Burns, Tenn., district and a 20-person crew under contract for the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, according to Mr. Rhinehart.
The U.S. Forest Service crew is originally from Oregon but are lending their services because they had been in the area working in the Cherokee National Forest near Cleveland, he said.
While the need for aerial drops of chemical retardant has passed, a Black Hawk helicopter flown in Monday from Smyrna, Tenn., is expected to provide additional help this afternoon by dousing the burn area with river water.
Mr. Rhinehart said he could not yet predict how soon the blaze will be extinguished.
“I guess it just depends on how much they get done today,” he said. “I’m optimistic that we’ll make a lot of headway.”
Meanwhile officials with the Air Pollution Control Bureau are maintaining a “Code Orange” alert, advising people with heart and lung conditions as well as older adults and children to remain indoors and limit exertion while particle content in the air remains at increased levels.
Bureau officials expect to be able to forecast tomorrow’s pollution levels by late this afternoon.
E-mail Lauren Gregory at lgregory@timesfreepress.com
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Copyright (c) 2007, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.
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