Natural Bridge Station, VA -February 25, 2022- The USDA Forest Service will begin conducting spring season prescribed burns in Amherst, Augusta and Bedford Counties as early as February. Prescribed burns improve wildlife habitat by restoring open woodlands and grasslands to the forest landscape. Safety is the Forest Service’s top priority and Forest Service fire managers will conduct prescribed burns in the following areas only under appropriate weather conditions:
The 1,075-acre Cole Mountain burn area is located eight miles east of Buena Vista within the Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area. The Old Hotel Trail (Forest Service Trail #515) and portions of the Appalachian Trail from U.S. Route 60 north to Salt Log Gap may be temporarily closed. Portions of Hog Camp Road (Forest Service Road #48), North Fork of the Buffalo Road (FSR #51) and Cow Camp Rd (FSR #520) may also be temporarily closed. The controlled burn may have lingering smoke effects in the Montebello area. For your safety, please follow posted signs and closures when they occur. Depending on wind direction, residents and travelers in these areas may see or smell smoke. The 327-acre Mills Creek burn area located in the Sherando area, is six miles southeast of Stuarts Draft and seven miles southwest of Waynesboro. Mill Creek Trail (FST #518), Mill Creek Dam Trail (FST #518A), Forest Service Roads Turkey Pen (FST #1237), Mill Creek Dam (FST #1234) and portions of the Old Coal Road (FST #42) may be temporarily closed. The controlled burn is expected to have lingering smoke effects in the Sherando area. For your safety, please follow posted signs and closures when they occur. Depending on wind direction, residents and travelers in these areas may see or smell smoke. The 1,013-acre Black Horse Gap burn area is located three miles northwest of Montvale and ten miles northeast of Roanoke. The Day Creek Trailhead, portions of the Glenwood Horse Trail (FST #3004E) and Forest Service Roads Day Creek (FST #3078) and Black Horse Gap East (FST #186-2) will be temporarily closed for the duration of the prescribed burn activities. The controlled burn may have lingering smoke effects in the Montvale area. Smoke from this burn will be visible throughout the area, including from I-81 and U.S. Route 460. For your safety, please follow posted signs and closures when they occur. Experienced fire managers will closely monitor local weather conditions, such as wind and humidity, and adjust the schedule as needed to ensure the safety of both crewmembers and local residents. Prior to lighting the burn, crews construct and designate firebreaks to ensure the fire does not leave the burn area. The burn will mimic historic natural fire as much as possible. Some individual trees will burn, but the fire should travel mostly across the forest floor. For thousands of years, fire shaped our forests and wildlife and our lands need fire to be healthy. Low intensity prescribed burns create open areas where a diverse mix of grasses, plants and wildflowers grow, and provide valuable food and cover for wildlife such as bear, deer, turkey and migratory birds. For more information on our prescribed burn program, please contact the Glenwood-Pedlar Ranger District at (540)291-2188 or visit our website www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj. You can also follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/GWJNF and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GWJNF
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