The U.S. Forest Service says the Weed Lane fire — which burned 752 acres near Black Mountain and Ridgecrest Conference Center — has “calmed down considerably.” Firefighters attribute overcast skies, cooler temperatures and higher humidity with the change. The Forest Service notes, however, that Ridgecrest trails are closed for the holiday weekend, and that fire threats remain due to continued dry conditions. Here’s the press release from the federal agency:
Firefighters Make Good Progress on Weed Lane Fire
The 752 acre wildfire has calmed down considerably since its ignition and blazing runs up the mountain on Tuesday afternoon. Overcast skies, cooler temperatures, and higher humidity have greatly reduced fire activity and assisted the firefighters in achieving 84 percent containment as of noon today. With rain in the forecast Thursday and Friday and fuels continuing to moisten, fire managers expect the fire activity to diminish while hand crews complete containment lines and rehabilitation of dozer lines and other natural resources.
The smaller regional incident management team in charge of the fire will be replaced by a state team that will assume control before night shift operations commence. The expanded team will work to close-out the fire by the end of the holiday weekend.
Although the fire itself poses a much lesser threat to communities in the Ridgecrest area, the fire aftermath of loosened soils and rocks, smoldering stump holes, as well as burned and weakened tree snags represent a real safety hazard for trail hikers and mountain bikers. For this reason, the Ridgecrest Conference Center has closed its trails and trail heads for the long holiday weekend. This will give fire crews time to identify and mitigate hazards on the trails bordering or traversing the fire footprint. The U.S. Forest Service did lift its trail closure order on the Pisgah National Forest, Grandfather Ranger District earlier this afternoon. This action ensures an ample number of trails will be open for weekend recreation.
While the Weed Lane Fire is winding down, Forest Service officials continue to remind residents and visitors to the North Carolina mountain region that spring wildfire season is well underway and will continue until forestland leaf-out occurs sometime in May. For this reason, care should be taken when using fire while drier fuel conditions exist.
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