Taylor Hollow Fire 70 Percent Contained
Smoke from Canadian wildfires, combined with a local wildfire east of Fairfield, sparked air quality concerns and produced a thick haze over the valley last week.
For several days, the mountains across Rockbridge County seemed to disappear.
Hundreds of wildfires in Canada have produced thick smoke that has wafted over much of the Midwest and East Coast, creating hazardous air conditions and eerie scenes of major cities shrouded in thick smoke.
On Friday, the National Weather Service issued a Code Orange air quality action day in Rockbridge County, which advised people sensitive to air pollutants to exercise caution outdoors.
On Friday, the Glenn Maury Park pool closed at 4 p.m. to protect the safety of visitors and staff amid the air quality alert. The pool remained closed on Saturday. Ryan Groah, Director of Buena Vista Parks and Recreation, said that poor air quality could cause a strain on lifeguards if they had to make a rescue attempt. The pool reopened on Sunday.
“I appreciate you taking care of the lifeguards,” one pool visitor wrote on Facebook. “What people don’t think about is that they can come and go, but the lifeguards are on duty and don’t get a break from the heat or the smoke!”
Sydney Evans, site director for the YMCA’s Camp Rockbridge, said that between the heat and the smoke, counselors limited outside play time to 15 minutes at the camp’s location at Central Elementary School.
The News-Gazette reached out to officials at Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital, who said that despite the smoke in the air, they had not seen any uptick in respiratory issues.
By Tuesday, air quality in Natural Bridge was reported by AirNow.gov as “good.”
Stacie Hanes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, said the reason Rockbridge County is seeing smoke from Canada is that airflow at the upper levels of the atmosphere are pointed straight towards our area. Hanes said that valleys tend to trap air pollution and smoke until wind, cold fronts or rain help to improve conditions.
She said a cold front moving in overnight on July 23 will likely clear the air, but smoky conditions could appear intermittently throughout the summer, depending on conditions in the upper atmosphere.
“We could see this until they get a handle on some of those bigger fires (in Canada), and it’s obviously hard for them to do that in the middle of summer with all the heat,” Hanes said. “So, it’ll probably be at least another month of this off and on.”
The smoke made for blazing orange sunsets across Rockbridge County. Several viewers shared photos with us on the News-Gazette’s Facebook page.
Local Wildfire Adds to Haze The Taylor Hollow Fire, which is burning about five miles east of Fairfield in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, contributed to hazy skies. The fire, which was discovered in dense woods near the Irish Creek area on July 5, had grown to 108 acres and was 70% contained by Sunday afternoon. More than 130 firefighters were brought in from California, Texas, West Virginia, Florida and Georgia to help Virginia fire crews fight the flames via ground and helicopter.
Firefighters were initially hampered by the lack of rain and steep, rocky terrain, but rain over the weekend has since allowed for some progress. Firefighters created containment lines and intentionally burned vegetation inside those lines to try to snuff out the fire. A Type 1 firefighting helicopter pulled water from a nearby pond to do bucket drops on the flames. The Type 1 helicopter is the largest and fastest of firefighting helicopters and can typically carry up to 700 gallons of water, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The News-Gazette spoke to Forest Service Public Information Officer Stephanie Chapman, who said a few firefighters have suffered minor injuries, mainly “wear and tear and twisting” trying to navigate the difficult terrain. As of last week, Chapman said there was no risk to structures in the Irish Creek area, but the timeline for containing the fire depends largely on the weather and is hard to predict.
The Whetstone Ridge Trail (#523) and Big Mary’s Road (#104), are temporarily closed to all public use.
People traveling through the area on Interstate 81 are advised they may smell and see smoke.
Firefighters were assigned grueling 12-hour shifts to contain the fire. “They are working hard,” Chapman said. “Our firefighters are professional, they are hardworking and they are very dedicated. And temperatures are going to increase, so we appreciate the community support.”
