BLACKSBURG, VA -February 28, 2022 — The USDA Forest Service will be conducting controlled burns as soon as Tuesday, March 1, and continuing into late spring. Controlled burns help keep the public and homes safe by reducing the buildup of dried leaves and wood in nearby forest land that can lead to uncontrolled wildfires, as well contributes to the overall forest health. Safety is the Forest Service’s top priority, and Forest Service fire managers will conduct controlled burns in the following areas only under appropriate weather conditions:
Montgomery County: The 1,141-acre Brush Mountain West burn unit is located 2.5 miles North of Blacksburg and 2.5 miles south of Newport. The project area will be burned in four smaller sub-units to help fire managers control smoke impacts. Trails in and around Pandapas Pond may be closed. For your safety, please follow posted signs and trail closures when they occur. The controlled burn is expected to have lingering smoke effects in the Poverty Creek Drainage. There may also be light smoke impacts to U.S. Route 460, Poverty Creek Road (Forest Road 10911), and Forest Road 113. Depending on wind direction, residents and travelers in these areas may see or smell smoke. The 46-acre Caldwell Fields burn unit is located on County Road 621 at the Caldwell reaction area. The project is a smaller burn that will have short duration impacts due to smoke along County Road 621. The burn is located between County 621 and Craig Creek and will produce smoke that will have some impacts to county road 621 for a short period of time. Caution should be used along this route to ensure fire fighter and public safety. Residents and travels in this area will likely see or smell smoke. The 58-acre Liatris prescribed burn area is located near Caldwell Fields recreation area and to the southeast of County Road 621. This project is one of two grass opening areas along County Road 621 that will be treated with prescribed fire because they require repeated intervals of fire to maintain large portions of the area as an open area for plants and wildlife. This project will be burned in spring to encourage the growth and vigor of native flowers, one commonly known as Liatris. Caution should be used traveling along route 621 to ensure fire fighter and public safety. Residents and travels in this area will likely see or smell smoke. Botetourt County: The 2,553-acre Price Mountain prescribed burn area is located on and around Price Mountain. The controlled burn will take place between Price Mountain and Patterson Creek Road. We expect smoke to be visible from multiple locations in Botetourt and Roanoke counties. Depending on wind direction, residents in Eagle Rock and Glen Wilton may smell smoke. The 428-acre Caldwell Mountain prescribed burn area is located on the southeast facing slope of Broad Run Mountain and lies on the Craig and Botetourt County line. Smoke may be visible to the residents of Daleville, Troutville, Fincastle, Roanoke, Catawba and New Castle. Smoke may also be visible to those traveling along U.S. Route 220 and Interstate 81. Depending on wind direction residents in the Catawba Creek Valley located near the town of Fincastle may smell smoke. Craig County: The 671-acre Mill Creek prescribe burn is located east of Fenwick Recreations site. Visitors to the Fenwick Mines Recreation Area may see and smell smoke on the day of the prescribed fire. Smoke from the area may be visible from New Castle, Barbours Creek and Oriskany. Depending on wind direction on the day of the burn, residents of Oriskany and the Craig Creek Valley along County Road 615 (Craigs Creek Road) may smell smoke. The 1,946-acre Sinking Creek prescribed burn is located east of County road 621 directly adjacent of Caldwell Fields recreation area on Forest Road 630. This project will be conducted in the springs and may take several days due to location and size of the project. The Appalachian Trail is used as a control line on the Sinking Creek Mountain Ridge. This project is also located in between both Craig and Montgomery Counties. Smoke will likely be visible from County Roads 621 and 42. Residents in the Sinking Creek and Craig Creek Drainage within the vicinity of the burn area may have short term smoke impacts. The 2,629-acre North Mountain prescribed burn area is located east of Route 311 on North Mountain between the towns of Abbott and Catawba, and 75% of his Projects lines consist of Forest service Trails to include North Mountain, Grouse, Deer, Turkey Trails. North Mountain prescribe burn is on the North Facing aspect of North mountain. It is expected that there may be smoke impacts within the Broad Run and Catawba Valley’s. The project has been split into smaller units to mitigate smoke concerns and trail closures. Residents in the area along 311 corridor area can expect to see and smell smoke. The 808-acres Potts Mountain Unit 8 controlled burn area may be burned this spring. This controlled burn is located along State Route 311. Smoke will be visible from New Castle and Paint Bank. Depending on wind direction the day of the burn, residents of Potts Creek Valley, Johns Creek Valley and Barbours Creek area may smell smoke. People traveling along State Route 311 in the vicinity of Potts Mountain should use caution as smoke may cause short-term low visibility. The 728-acre North Mountain prescribed burn area is located on the north side of North Mountain. Smoke may be visible to the residents of Fincastle, Daleville, Troutville and the Roanoke Valley. Depending on wind on the day of the burn, residents of Catawba Valley adjacent to Fincastle and residents of Craigs Creek Valley may smell smoke. Pulaski County: The 3,338-acre Tract Mountain unit 1 prescribed burn area is located north of the Gatewood Reservoir, north of the town of Pulaski. Residents of Pulaski, Radford and Christiansburg and travelers along Interstate 81 may smell smoke. Depending on wind direction residents and travelers near Pulaski may smell smoke. Giles County: The 887-acre Kelly Flats prescribe burn area is located north of Big Stoney Road County Road 635. This project is located northwest of the Glen Alton Recreation Area and north of the town of Interior. The southwest portion of this project uses the Appalachian Trail as a fire line, and hikers may experience some short delays during implementation. The project area is broken into smaller units to mitigate smoke concerns and to support burning in a variety of seasonal conditions to improve forest health. Smoke will be seen from County Road 635 and residents may smell and see smoke for a short duration during the implementation of this project. 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 the most up-to-date information visit the inciweb site: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7945/ For more information on our prescribed burn program, please contact please contact the Eastern Divide Ranger District office at (540) 552-4641, visit our website www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj or follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/GWJNF and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GWJNF ###
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