Firefighters Battle Blaze on Tobacco Row Mountain in Amherst

Source from:  By Chris Dumond cdumond@newsadvance.com November 23, 2007 11/26/2007

Even with the help of a Virginia Department of Forestry helicopter dumping water on the blaze, volunteer firefighters struggled with a 25-acre forest fire Friday afternoon in Amherst County. The forest fire broke out around 2 p.m. on Tobacco Row Mountain in western Amherst County behind Morris Orchard, off Ambrose Rucker Road. At 2:30, Monelison Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Rick Hunter estimated the fire to be about 10 acres in size. Changing wind gusts spread the fire up and down the mountain in spite of the work of more than a dozen volunteers - most, if not all, from Monelison - and two bulldozers, one of which was from Nelson County. Morris Orchard owner Scott Barnes said brush fires are not uncommon in the area. "Seven or eight years ago we had a fire up there kinda on the same place on the mountain," Barnes said. "Someone had a four-wheeler up there with a faulty muffler, but what happened this time, I don't know." By 3:30, Donnie Tyree of the Virginia Department of Forestry estimated the burn area was at least 22 acres in size and still spreading. By then, the department was flying in a helicopter from Richmond to help fight the blaze, Tyree said. Shortly after 4, the blue and white helicopter arrived, making several passes around the mountain to survey the fire. The helicopter started dumping water on the fire, filling up from the pond at the Morris Orchard. As the sun went down, firefighters surveyed the situation from the top of the mountain, with Hunter commenting over the radio that he didn't like the look of the steep, rocky terrain, should the blaze spread to the other side. By 6 p.m., according to the radio traffic among the firefighters on the mountain, the fire was still not contained and some volunteers' radio batteries were dying. At that time, some firefighters retreated down the mountain to get food and water from a nearby store. By 8 p.m., the Monelison Fire Department had turned command over to the Virginia Department of Forestry, and had come off of the mountain for the night. Assistant Fire Chief Rick Hunter estimated more than 25 acres were still in flames, but that safety demanded knocking off for the night. "We're gonna be back up at first light tomorrow," he said. He said a crew was left on the mountain to keep an eye on the situation and to call firefighters if the fire were to escalate. No structures were in immediate danger, Hunter said. Enditem