Oak Ridge Today

Updated: Arson suspected in mountain fire emitting miles-long smoke plume

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Arson is suspected in a fire that has burned about 450 acres in mountain forests about five miles northeast of Petros, authorities said. Smoke from the fire is pictured above from Highway 116 in north Anderson County on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. The smoke plume could be seen for miles. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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Arson is suspected in a fire that has burned about 450 acres in mountain forests about five miles northeast of Petros, authorities said. Smoke from the fire is pictured above from Highway 116 in north Anderson County on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. The smoke plume could be seen for miles. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

PETROS—Arson is suspected in a fire that started this weekend and has burned about 452 acres in mountain forests a few miles east and northeast of Petros, authorities said Monday.

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Firefighters contain brush fire on ridge off Yarnell Road in Claxton

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Firefighters contained a brush fire of about two to three acres on a ridge above Yarnell Road just outside south Clinton on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016. Pictured above are two trucks with bulldozers from the Tennessee Division of Forestry. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 7 p.m. Nov. 17.

CLAXTON—Firefighters contained a brush fire on a ridge off Yarnell Road in Claxton on Wednesday night, authorities said.

The Tennessee Division of Forestry said the fire burned seven acres, and arson was the cause.

It was in a wooded area just outside south Clinton, said Dusty Sharpe, assistant chief of the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department. It was reported at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Most of the firefighters came down from the fire at about 9:40 p.m. Among those who responded were firefighters from Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department, Claxton Volunteer Fire Department, Clinton Fire Department, Marlow Volunteer Fire Department, and the Tennessee Division of Forestry.

Sharpe said the fire was contained, but it had a few hot spots that would continue to burn the next few hours. There was no damage to any structures, he said. [Read more…]

More than 4,000 acres burned in Anderson County, state records say

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More than 4,000 acres have burned this month in four fires in rugged, forested parts of north Anderson County, state officials said Thursday. Smoke hangs high in the air above the mountains north of Oliver Springs on Thursday evening, Nov. 10, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. Nov. 12.

NEW RIVER—More than 4,000 acres have burned this month in five fires in mountainous north Anderson County, state officials said.

In Anderson County, 4,235 acres had been burned by the five fires as of Saturday afternoon, according to an update posted by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry. That was the most acres burned by fires that were still active in Tennessee on Saturday.

Arson is listed as the cause of four of the Anderson County fires, according to the update. Debris is the cause of another.

Smoke from at least two fires hung high above the mountains north of Oak Ridge and Oliver Springs on Thursday evening. It reduced visibility to a few hundred feet on the northernmost section of Highway 116 in rural Anderson County on Friday morning. Smoke was thick near a bridge at a 90-degree bend in the highway at the Campbell County line in northern Anderson County, irritating throats and making it harder to breathe. Firefighters said there was a nearby fire that they called Bootjack, up Stoney Fork Road, which goes north into Campbell County. [Read more…]

Arson suspected in three fires that burn close to 2,000 acres in Anderson County

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The Tennessee Division of Forestry said on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, that the 900-acre Beech Grove fire in Devonia along Highway 116 in north Anderson County was contained. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m. Nov. 10.

NEW RIVER—Arson is suspected in three fires that have burned close to 2,000 acres in mountainous north Anderson County in the past week, authorities said Tuesday.

The largest fire, the Three Heads Fire in Double Camp behind Rosedale Elementary School on Highway 116, was estimated to have started on November 2. Crews had been holding it at about 1,500 acres, but someone went in behind firefighters and restarted the fire in a mountain gap about two days ago, said Bruce Miller, Tennessee Division of Forestry forestry technician in Anderson County.

Crews had to go to the north end of Anderson County to cut off the fire, which has grown to 1,600 acres, Miller said.

“It’s going to get bigger,” he said.

The fire is northeast of the Tennessee Valley Authority wind turbines on Buffalo Mountain, which are visible from Oak Ridge on a clear day. No personal property was reported to be at risk on Tuesday morning. A Tennessee Division of Forestry bulldozer was headed to the fire when Oak Ridge Today interviewed Miller in New River. [Read more…]

Smoke from brush fires settles in Oak Ridge; burn ban, air quality alert in effect

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A brown-gray haze thickened over Oak Ridge on Monday, Nov. 7, 2016, and the smell of smoke hung in the air as firefighters battled blazes in East Tennessee and across the state. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:25 p.m.

A brown-gray haze thickened over Oak Ridge on Monday and the smell of smoke hung in the air as firefighters battled blazes in East Tennessee and across the state.

The haze was visible at least into west Knox County.

Anderson County and Oak Ridge both issued reminders that a burn ban is in effect. The Oak Ridge Police Department sent out a notice that the smoke in the air is due to numerous brush fires throughout the state, and the department asked residents to not call 911 to inquire about the cause.

The Tennessee Division of Forestry reported 96 active fires on Sunday afternoon, with 8,665 acres burned. (See a list of the fires here and a map here.)

Three active fires were reported in Anderson County, with 1,485 acres burned. [Read more…]

No one injured, no homes damaged in brush fire on Foley Hill north of Clinton

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No one was injured and no homes were damaged during a brush fire on Foley Hill north of Clinton on Thursday, March 17, 2016. Above, resident Albert Look, who lives on Jarnigan Chapel Road, fights the fire with a garden hose until the Medford Fire Department arrives. (Photo by Caren Look)

 

CLINTON—No one was injured and no homes were damaged during a brush fire on Foley Hill north of Clinton on Thursday.

The fire was 1.5 acres, and it was started by an “escaped debris fire,” the Tennessee Division of Forestry said. A warning was issued, officials said.

Residents who live off Jarnigan Chapel Road on the top of the hill said it started at the bottom of the hill, and the wind blew it up through the woods.

“It was horrifying,” said J.T. Taylor, who lives near the top of the hill. He said flames about 10 feet high came within 20 feet of his home. [Read more…]

Controlled burns scheduled on DOE Oak Ridge Reservation

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Controlled burns of grassland areas are scheduled starting this week and continuing through April at East Tennessee Technology Park and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The controlled burns were announced by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

Beginning this week and continuing through April, the controlled burns will take place, weather permitting, at: [Read more…]

Hunting fire might have started OS forest fire, official says

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A hunting fire might have started a fire on Walden Ridge near downtown Oliver Springs on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 24, 2015, a state official said. Firefighters set up fire lines in a 12-acre area to control and contain the fire. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:40 a.m. Nov. 25.

OLIVER SPRINGS—A hunting fire might have started the Tuesday afternoon fire on Walden Ridge near downtown Oliver Springs, a state official said.

The fire was reported to have covered about one to two acres. Firefighters contained it to a 12-acre area, said Bruce Miller of the Tennessee Division of Forestry in Anderson County.

Smoke was reported in the area at about 1:50 p.m. Tuesday.

The fire was on a steep, rough, rocky hillside above Railroad Avenue near downtown Oliver Springs. Firefighters used hand tools and leaf blowers to dig fire lines, and they had the fire controlled by about 7 p.m. Miller expected it to be contained within the hour. State officials would check on the fire Wednesday morning, he said. [Read more…]

Controlled burns on Oak Ridge Reservation through April

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office will have a series of controlled burns of grassland areas on parts of the Oak Ridge Reservation during February, March, and April.

The prescribed burning at the East Tennessee Technology Park and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was scheduled to start this week.

Weather permitting, the controlled burns are scheduled to take place on: [Read more…]

Firefighters will have controlled burns on Summit Ridge on Saturday

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State and local firefighters will have controlled burns on a prominent ridge top in south Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The burning on Summit Ridge between South Illinois Avenue and Scarboro Road will start at about noon Saturday and end before dark, an Oak Ridge Fire Department press release said. The burns will be conducted by the Tennessee Division of Forestry with help from the ORFD.

The goal is to help reduce the risk of an uncontrolled fire occurring at the site and to help promote the growth of new vegetation in the area, the release said.

After burning 71 acres, Walden Ridge fire contained

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Walden Ridge Fire

Smoke plumes rise above Walden Ridge northeast of Oliver Springs on Tuesday, where a fire first reported Sunday burned about 71 acres before being contained.

OLIVER SPRINGS—The Walden Ridge fire first reported Sunday burned about 71 acres, but it is contained now, a state forester said Wednesday afternoon.

Fire crews have been able to use a bulldozer to clear a line around the blaze and contain it, said Nathan Waters, assistant district forester for the Tennessee Division of Forestry. They also used leaf blowers to move leaves—which can serve as light fuel—away from homes along Dutch Valley Road and to help build fire lines.

Waters said firefighters, who have left Walden Ridge, will check back again this afternoon and also tomorrow. They could continue to check back until the area gets a significant rain. [Read more…]

Walden Ridge fire near Oliver Springs grows to more than 30 acres

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Walden Ridge Fire

Smoke plumes rise above Walden Ridge northeast of Oliver Springs, where a fire first reported Sunday afternoon had grown to more than 30 acres by Tuesday morning.

OLIVER SPRINGS—A fire that was first reported Sunday afternoon on Walden Ridge a few miles northeast of Oliver Springs had grown to more than 30 acres by Tuesday morning, a state forester said.

The fire is on a steep hillside north of Dutch Valley Road between a Marlow Volunteer Fire Department fire station and Fox Lane.

The cause hasn’t been determined, but it was most likely arson, said Nathan Waters, assistant district forester for the Tennessee Division of Forestry.

He said the fire was originally reported as a campfire, but it appears to have started away from any trails or burn pits, and there was no lightning on Halloween, when smoke was first reported in the area. [Read more…]