Fire crews continue to work to contain the Quaker Run fire in Madison County, which started on Oct. 24 and has now burned through about 2,800 acres of private, state and federal lands, according to the National Parks Service. A perimeter has been established around the fire, but it has broken through in several places that are continuing to be addressed.
Firefighters from across Virginia — and across the country, with crews from as far away as Utah — are working to contain the fire and protect structures and homes, none of which have been damaged by fire yet.
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James Cochran, a firefighter from Spainville, uses a combination tool to dig out and extinguish smoldering pieces of duff in the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area on Nov. 6.
According to Cory Swift, Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) spokesperson, the fire is spreading primarily west, further into the Shenandoah National Park and Rapidan Wildlife Management Area.
Because of the unpredictability of the wildfire and changing winds, coupled with the rocky and challenging terrain making it difficult for crews to get to the fire, there is no estimated date as to when the fire will be completely contained and extinguished.
Drought conditions in the area have made burning brush and any other outdoor burning extra hazardous, and Swift said residents should take extra precaution by waiting to burn leaves or make bonfires until after significant rainfall.
“There’s been a lot of support for our firefighters and we’re very appreciative of that. People have been asking how they can help and the best way they can help is just to be careful with fire,” Swift said. “That way our firefighters can focus on containing this fire and not get pulled away to deal with anything else.”
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Madison County EMS set up to provide food and emergency services to firefighters at the Quaker Run fire base near the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area on Nov. 6.
Smoke from the fires has drifted over the mountain to Luray and nearly 40 miles south to Charlottesville, with communities within Madison County, particularly those closest to the fire, getting the brunt of thick smoke.
As of Sunday night, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office issued a voluntary evacuation notice, encouraging those close to the fire line to take precaution and consider evacuation. Once the fire is fully contained, DOF expects it to take about two weeks to completely extinguish the fire.
Parts of the fire have now been put out, and fire crews are working to “mop up” areas by putting out any smoldering spots under the burned top layer of soil. Duff, a layer of partially-decayed organic matter under the forest floor, can continue to burn for days or weeks after a fire is put out, according to the Southern Fire Exchange.
The DOF’s Eastern Region crew spent most of Monday surveying a burned area along the Shenandoah National Park and Rapidan Wildlife Management Area border, extinguishing any smoldering spots in the soil and remaining brush.
“What we’re doing now is making sure everything’s out,” said James Cochran, a member of the crew from Spainville, south of Richmond in Nottoway County.
The crew arrived on Doubletop Mountain, where the fire originated, last Thursday and worked to establish the fire line, literally “fighting fire with fire” by burning areas along the perimeter themselves then extinguishing it, removing most of the fuel so that when the fire gets to that area, there is nothing left to burn.
Squad boss John Rose, from Suffolk, said the crew has managed to hold the fire line on their end, with no fire jumping the line and burning further into the park and wildlife management area.
“We’ve held our fires,” Rose said. “We know how to manage fire, we just go in stages, little sections…we didn’t have any jumps.”
Swift said no official cause has yet been determined for the fire, and DOF plans to conduct a full investigation once it is extinguished. He said people in surrounding communities can help aid in management efforts by preventing further fires from breaking out.
