Grass and Forest Fire, February 25, 2002

February 25, 2002

7:34 P.M.

When I went down this afternoon to get groceries, I found that there was a pretty large grass fire burning about 2 miles down the gravel road from the Ranch (about half way to the pavement). It had started near the road and was burning up the mountainside. There where already a few people and Forest Service trucks there fighting it.
On my way back from Waynesville, there where 4 grass and brush fires burning off the side of the road! It looks to me like someone was setting them from off the highway!! Either that or there where a LOT of stupid people trying to burn stuff today.
Anyway, when I came back home a few minutes ago our fire was by far the biggest. You could see the fire burning from Lake Junaluska 20 miles away. When I got up close I could see that the fire was burning down the mountainside from where it had started and had reach the woods at the edge of the big pasture. It was blazing pretty big and looked like it was consuming the trees. As I made my way through the fire trucks and people it looked like the forest area was where all the fire fighting was going on. As I went on up the mountain it looked like the grass fire had burnt out. Only fence posts and some brush were still burning. It had gone up the road about quarter mile from where I first saw it. For all those that are familiar with our road, it burned up to and around the house with the pond. It looks like the folks who own that house/cabin where there in force and must have been fighting the grass fire. It looked like they where setting back drinking beer now though. The good news is that the fire is about 2 miles from the Ranch and is burning in the opposite direction from here.

8:45 P.M.

I went back down with my video camera and got some shots of the fire. It had moved to the other side of the mountain and I could not see the flames very well. Here are some shots as I'm driving back down towards the fire...

As I rounded a curve you could see the smoke from the fire in the distance over the ridge line.

Forest Service trucks where all up and down this section of the road. The fire fighters had 4 wheel ATVs and where running all over the place.

This is some of the grass that was still burning. The fire fighters weren't paying these areas any attention.

This is some of the grass and brush that was burning near the road.

More brush burning on up the moutainside.

The biggest part was burning out of sight....

... until I got almost to the bottom of the road and looked back.

Here are some images of the part of the fire visible from the paved part of our road. The fire is about a mile away and I've zoomed in with my camera.