A rash of major brush fires spread in several areas of Albemarle County on Saturday as high winds, low humidity and heat created devastating weather conditions for breeding fires.
Near Dick Woods Road in Albemarle, hundreds of wooded acres were ablaze in the early afternoon and crews were still working to put out flames in the evening.
“It was a red flag day. It’s low humidity, high winds, high heat. It’s a perfect concoction for brush fires,” said Aaron Horton, a firefighter with the Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department.
Horton, who spent much of the day fighting to contain the fire near Dick Woods Road, said the weather had the landscape hyper sensitive to fires.
Homes appeared mostly unscathed by the fires, though specific details about property damages weren’t available as of press time.
County fire units were dispatched to the last man Saturday, as workers also fought major brush fires near Esmont Road and Browns Gap Turnpike, as well as a significant brush fire on Thomas Jefferson Parkway.
“Surrounding counties have been heavily impacted as well,” Albemarle County Department of Fire Rescue Chief John P. Oprandy wrote in an email to the county’s spokeswoman. “We’ve been sharing resources as much as possible. Currently we’re using apparatus from other counties; we have also sent an engine to Waynesboro to assist there.”
As of press time, there were no reports of injuries.
Louisa County declared a local state of emergency because of a wild fire between Chopping Road and Zachary Taylor Highway. With up to 1,200 acres affected, according to officials’ estimate, many nearby residents were evacuated.
The fire began when a tree struck a power line, according to Louisa County officials. An emergency shelter was opened at the Louisa County Middle School, the county reported in a statement late Saturday.
Albemarle firefighters on the scene of the fire at Dick Woods Road said residents need to take red flag warnings seriously.
“My advice is to not throw cigarettes out of car windows,” Horton said, highlighting how easily fires can be started when conditions are ripe.
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