High winds whip flames; burning ban is under effect for most of western N.C.

By DARLENE WYATT
Staff

What started as a small brush fire, ended up burning around 30 acres and involving four of the five county fire departments last Friday.

The fire consumed around 30 acres of Spicer Mountain at the Richard Woodie farm off Antioch Church Road in Sparta.

With winds gusting up to 40 miles an hour, firemen struggled to keep the fire from spreading to two nearby structures. An access into the mountain was not available to the fire trucks, leaving most of the firefighting to hand tools, brush trucks and a dozer.

FIGHTING FIRE - Members of the Cherry Lane Fire Department
clear a path to the flames at a brush fire off Antioch
Church Road last Friday. The fire consumed 30 acres of
Spicer Mountain timberland.

"At the beginning, we couldn't get anything into the fire," said Melvin Crouse of the N.C. Forest Service. "We had to get the dozer to cut a path through."

Crouse received the call around 2:30 p.m. Friday to respond to a brush fire at the Woodie farm. Soon afterwards Sparta/Alleghany Volun-teer Fire Department was called, along with the units from Cherry Lane, Piney Creek, and Laurel Springs.

"This was the largest fire we've had in a long period of time," said Melvin Crouse of the N.C. Forest Service.

Crouse requested the service of a helicopter and a bulldozer from the N.C. Forest Service to get the fire under control. The helicopter dipped water from a nearby pond to douse the flames and aid the firefighters.

"If it hadn't been for the helicopter and the dozer, we would have lost a lot more acreage," Crouse said.

"We were lucky that Richard didn't waste any time in calling for help," Crouse added. "As soon as he saw it was getting out of hand he responded."

Crouse and fellow forest ranger, Mike Choate, were on the scene for 23 hours.

At one point the fire reached within 500 feet of a nearby residence.

"We were really concerned with the fire reaching a structure," said Crouse.

"I was really concerned for the firemen, we had two that were overtaken by smoke," said Crouse.

Two firemen from the Cherry Lane Fire Department were treated and released at Alleghany Memorial Hospital for smoke inhalation.

Cherry Lane responded to the fire with eight members. The high winds were working against the efforts of the firefighters, according to Chief Kenneth Miles.

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