Virginia Governer Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency as firefighters respond to two wildfires amid dry conditions and high win.
Virginia Governer Glenn Youngkin
Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia issued a state of emergency proclamation on Tuesday when firefighters battled two wildfires in the midst of strong winds and dry conditions.
According to a news release from the governor’s office, the proclamation enables Virginia to mobilize more personnel, equipment, and resources to aid in the response. The Department of Forestry, the Department of Emergency Management, and other agencies are involved in the operation along with the Virginia National Guard.
Over the weekend, containment lines were broken by the Quaker Run Fire in Madison County and the Tuggles Gap fire in Patrick County. According to officials, more resources are needed to put out these fires and deal with any others that may break out.
Virginia’s fall fire season runs through Nov. 30, but officials said drought conditions have made these fires challenging to contain.
A state of emergency was also declared in a western North Carolina community where a wildfire burned hundreds of acres and threatened homes. Crews are fighting several separate blazes in forested areas of Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky as wide swaths of those states face moderate to severe drought condition s and warmer than normal temperatures.
Youngkin’s emergency declaration was issued on Monday and is effective for 30 days.
The order is “to assist firefighter response efforts on two wildfires around the state due to dry conditions and high winds, both of which are common during the ongoing fall fire season. These fires may continue to pose a threat to public health and safety,” Youngkin’s office said in a press release on Tuesday.
Virginia’s governor declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as wildfires burn in Patrick County and Madison County, including within Shenandoah National Park.
The Quaker Run Wildfire in Madison County, about 95 miles southwest of D.C., had burned an estimated 2,480 acres as of Sunday evening, the state forestry department said. Crews are also battling the Tuggles Gap fire in Patrick County, near the North Carolina line.
Images show clouds of smoke above fall leaves, and a U.S. Forest Service helicopter dumping down water.
The emergency declaration will allow Virginia officials to deploy attentional resources, equipment and staff, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said.
“This executive order will ensure that the Commonwealth has additional resources and is using every tool at its disposal to keep Virginians safe,” he said in a statement.
The Madison County fire had not damaged any buildings as of Sunday evening. As a precaution, the county sheriff’s office urged residents north of 681 Finks Hollow Lane to evacuate. The forestry department estimated it would take firefighters at least two weeks to completely put out the fire.
The Quaker Run fire had burned about 670 acres within Shenandoah National Park, according to a notice on the National Park Service site on Tuesday afternoon. The fire is burning on the park’s eastern boundary.
The park, Skyline Drive and other facilities remain open as scheduled.
The Whiteoak Canyon and Old Rag trails are open but “at times are impacted by dense smoke which may reach unhealthy to very unhealthy levels,” officials warned.
A fire ban is in effect, meaning that building or using an open fire anywhere in the park is prohibited.
How dry conditions helped the wildfire spread
Dry grasses, fallen leaves, low humidity and windy conditions have combined to create favorable conditions for wildfires to spark and spread, the governor’s office said. Virginia has had 500 wildfires this year, which is “consistent with past years,” the office said.
The U.S. Drought Monitor shows the area under a severe drought.
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The Virginia National Guard, Virginia Department of Forestry and Virginia Department of Emergency Management are among the agencies responding to the fire.
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