A “very large” weekend fire on Mowbray Mountain, the third in north Hamilton County in the past three weeks, was mostly contained Sunday night, officials said.
Emergency officials were alerted Friday about the fire near the Canyon Rim section of the mountain, said Meg Lockhart, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. But officials won’t be able to pinpoint an exact starting location, cause or acreage lost until there isn’t any possibility of its spreading, she said.
“Right now the task at hand is keeping the fire contained [and] manageable,” she said.
Dryness helped the Mowbray fire spread, just as it recently did with a 200-acre fire near Sale Creek and a 50-acre one near Soddy-Daisy, Lockhart said.
“The dry weather conditions make it very hazardous,” she said.
No injuries or damaged homes had been reported from the fire, said Shane Petty, chief ranger for Tennessee State Parks.
The state parks system has issued a temporary ban on back-country campfires in all state parks because of dry weather, according to a news release.
Campers will still be able to build campfires and use charcoal to cook their meals, as long as they are inside an appropriate fire ring or designated grill area.
“Dry weather has impacted the entire state, especially in West Tennessee and areas along the border of Middle and East Tennessee,” Mike Carlton, assistant commissioner for Tennessee State Parks, said in the release. “Humidity is very low and with fronts bringing high winds, we want to take every precaution necessary to protect people and land.”
See complete coverage in Monday’s Times Free Press.