• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

Petros fire updates: Few embers, smoke on Friday

Posted at 10:45 am November 26, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

jason-oshell-crew-at-mountain-fire-morgan-county-1-nov-2016

Jason O’Shell, right, leads a crew on a mountaintop in Morgan County, near Petros, on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. (Photo by Tennessee Department of Agriculture)

 

PETROS—A few embers and smoke remained on a mountaintop just north of Oliver Springs in Morgan County on Friday as a Tennessee Division of Forestry crew headed out for another fire reported in nearby Roane County, state officials said.

The firefighters, led by crew boss Jason O’Shell, worked the day building fire lines and backfiring to keep the Morgan County fire from spreading in an area frequented by four-wheelers, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture said. The crew was helped by a federal fire crew from western states.

Crews have been battling two blazes this week north of Oliver Springs, near Petros. The two fires have been about 12-16 miles northwest of Oak Ridge.

One fire, the Bald Knob Road fire, has been roughly east and northeast of Petros near the Anderson County-Morgan County line, in mountains east of Highway 62 and south of Highway 116. Crews first responded to that fire on Sunday. Since then, it has grown to 1,173 acres. It’s an arson, and it’s 100 percent contained, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry said Friday afternoon.

Advertisement

The fire had scorched down to Petros, and crews appeared to set back fires to contain it, keeping it away from Petros and homes on the north side of Petros on Wednesday evening.

No smoke was visible from that fire from Highway 62 or from a short section of Highway 116 at about noon Friday.

The second fire, the Little Brushy fire, is south of Petros, on a ridge behind Petros-Joyner School near the intersection of Highway 62 and Highway 116. That fire, which grew to 260 acres, is maybe five miles south of the Bald Knob Road fire. It’s also an arson, and it’s 100 percent contained, the Tennessee Division of Forestry said Friday afternoon.

The Little Brushy fire is above homes and businesses along Highway 62, and it was reported on Wednesday morning. It was emitting much less smoke on Friday than it had been on Wednesday.

Also Friday, the Tennessee Division of Forestry reported that the Beech Grove Road fire in Anderson County was 327 acres and 100 percent contained.

State crews reported 66 actives fires on Friday that have burned 25,892 acres. State crews, with help from local and out-of-state firefighters, have been battling anywhere from about 50 to 90 fires at a time in Tennessee this month as a drought persists in the Southeast. About half of the fires have been arsons.

Advertisement

Seven fires in Anderson County have burned more than 4,000 acres, mostly in mountainous north Anderson County. At least six of those fires have been arsons, according to state records.

The National Weather Service in Morristown is forecasting that rains are possible next week.

“A slow-moving upper level storm system will begin to impact the region during the early to middle part of next week,” the National Weather Service said. “Good chances for some beneficial rains will exist late Monday through Wednesday evening.”

There could be a widespread total rainfall of between two to three inches over the areas hardest hit by the drought, forecasters said. There could be more rain along the mountains, the National Weather Service said.

It’s not clear if that would be enough to help firefighters. They’ve said the previous light rains haven’t helped. But the last rainfall, on Wednesday night, was less than about 0.1 inches in East Tennessee, much less than the few inches possible in this forecast.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

See a fire location map by the Tennessee Division of Forestry here.

See a list of active fires here.

See a map of Petros, which is north of Oak Ridge on Highway 62, here.

washington-federal-crew-member-at-bald-knob-road-fire-1-nov-25-2016

A federal crew member from Washington state takes a break at the end of a long day of reinforcing fire lines and backfiring an area near Bald Knob Road in Morgan County, near Petros, on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. (Photo by Tennessee Department of Agriculture)

 

bald-knob-road-morgan-county-1-nov-2016

Near Bald Knob Road in Morgan County, east of Petros, on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. (Photo by Tennessee Department of Agriculture)

 

Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Morgan County, Petros, Police and Fire, Tennessee, Top Stories Tagged With: arson, Bald Knob Road fire, Beech Grove Road fire, fire, Highway 116, Highway 62, Jason O'Shell, Little Brushy fire, Morgan County, Morgan County fire, National Weather Service, Petros, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Tennessee Division of Forestry

Advertisements


 

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Police and Fire News

Man sentenced to 8 years after fleeing, crashing, attempting carjackings

An Oak Ridge man received an eight-year sentence Tuesday when he pleaded guilty to seven charges after fleeing from police on South Illinois Avenue four years ago, crashing, and attempting two carjackings in the Panera … [Read More...]

Three Ohio residents die in two-vehicle crash

Three Ohio residents died in a two-vehicle crash on Edgemoor Road at Old Emory Road in Claxton on Friday, July 22. The three Ohio residents were all in the same vehicle, a 2018 Honda CRV, and they were all from … [Read More...]

TBI investigating man’s death

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of a 39-year-old man during an interaction with Oak Ridge police officers in the Hendrix Creek subdivision on Sunday afternoon. Oak Ridge Police … [Read More...]

Investigation under way in West Outer Drive house fire

Three people are safe after a house fire on West Outer Drive on Friday morning. Fire crews arrived on scene of the home, located at 687 West Outer Drive, within three minutes of the call, a press release said. They … [Read More...]

Rocky Top woman pleads guilty to murder, sentenced to life

An Anderson County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the death of J.C. Copeland, an 83-year-old Rocky Top man, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus an extra 20 … [Read More...]

More Police and Fire

Recent Posts

  • ORAU launches new app with a variety of resources available, including hundreds of STEM internships, fellowships and research opportunities
  • Disposing of uranium waste could cost at least $7.2 billion
  • Y-12 now getting power from Pine Ridge substation
  • Man sentenced to 8 years after fleeing, crashing, attempting carjackings
  • Three Ohio residents die in two-vehicle crash
  • DOE picks Idaho for nuclear test reactor
  • TBI investigating man’s death
  • Luminarias to feature peace messages
  • Oak Ridge tennis court dance is Thursday
  • DOE bus tours restart in Oak Ridge

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2022 Oak Ridge Today