TENNESSEE

Firefighters hoping end in sight for East Tennessee wildfires

Steve Ahillen
steve.ahillen@knoxnews.com

Those who have been fighting fires in East Tennessee for more than a month are daring to hope that the end might be in sight.

"We have had only three new fires, burning a total of six acres in our district," Nathan Waters, assistant forester with the state Division of Forestry East District, which includes the Knoxville area, said Friday. "With the moisture we have had from the fog this morning and the overcast skies we are looking pretty good.

"We are getting predictions of rain for early next week and that could do it."

Firefighters make progress, crews stay active

Derek Eisentrout of the National Weather Service in Morristown said he is expecting as much of two inches of rain for the area starting Monday evening.

"This will be quite substantial," he said, "significantly different than what we have received throughout the past months."

He said the reason is the area has been held in the grips of a "pressure ridge" during that time that has not allowed moisture to get into the area. The pressure ridge is breaking up.

Rain at this time of the year usually comes from a pattern headed south to the Gulf of Mexico, picking up moisture then heading to the Southern Appalachian region where it will drop rain.

That would be a welcome relief for some of the thousands of firefighters, some brought in from as far as Alaska, who have been battling throughout the Southeast in some cases for more than six weeks.

The state Division of Forestry website, burnsafetn.org, still lists 72 active fires burning 26,138 acres. However, the individual fire listings show only a few that have not been 100 percent contained.

A fire near Petros in Morgan County has burned 100 acres and is 10 percent contained.

The fire was reported Wednesday and caused heavy smoke to drift across Highway 62.

The East Millers Cove fire on Chilhowee Mountain that has kept firefighters busy for more than a week still was listed as 80 percent contained. The blaze, which has burned 1,459 acres, was the site of Gov. Bill Haslam's visit on Wednesday.

Waters said firefighters there have told him it is closer to 100 percent contained with firefighters down to doing "mop-up" work for the most part. Fire officials warn, however, that "contained" does not mean the fire is completely out but that it is judged to be under control.

A nighttime view from U.S. Highway 321 of the wildfire burning near Walland Elementary in Blount County.

The fires have also caused respiratory problems in the area for more than a month. Airnow.gov, the Environmental Protection Agency's website, showed the Air Quality Index for Knoxville as orange for "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" on Friday morning. An area to the southeast of Knoxville was in the red "Unhealthy" area meaning "everyone may experience health effects."

Trails near Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were closed until further notice Thursday because of a fire in that area. The trails include Chimney Tops, Sugarlands Mountain, Huskey Gap and Road Prong. The fire was listed at 1.5 acres on Thursday but had spread to three acres Friday.

"We are experiencing extremely dry conditions throughout the park, and we are asking for the public's help to prevent uncontrolled widlfires," Chief Ranger Steve Kloster said. "The cause of the fire near Chimney Tops appears to be human caused. If anyone has information regarding the origin of this fire or other fires in the park, please call the park's Tip Line at 865-436-1580."

The U.S. Forest Service reported crews working on small fires burning on private land 1 1/2 miles southwest of Ripshin Lake in Carter County. The fire was threatening six structures around the Blackberry Cove community.

The report stated 30 firefighters and three bulldozers were being used to fight three small fires burning 43 acres. That acreage total was downgraded from 100 acres because firefighters with additional time were able to better map the area affected. The fire was being aided by erratic, gusting winds. The fires have been judged "human caused," which could mean arson or that they were accidentally set.

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