About the Rough Ridge fire
The basicsGeorgia’s Rough Ridge fire, started by a lightning strike at about 3:15 p.m. Oct. 16, has consumed more than 28,000 acres of the Cohutta Wilderness Area of the Chattahoochee National Forest. It is about 13 miles west of Blue Ridge, which is in Fannin County. The incident command post now is in Chatsworth in Murray County.Just how big is it?For comparison, the Chickamauga Battlefield in Georgia (not the entire Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park) encompasses 5,300 acres. In square miles, the fire covers an area more than half the size of Seattle.Current situationThe fire is 40 percent contained, and 243 personnel are fighting it. There are three crews, two helicopters, seven engines, four water tenders and two bulldozers assigned. The Conasauga Ranger District has brought in more law enforcement personnel to help with road closures and fire restrictions. An incident management team from Southern California took command of the firefighting effort Friday morning. The main fire is moving west toward the Conasauga River and chewing through unburned forest.What’s feeding it?Pine trees, hardwoods and shrubbery are burning. Hardwood leaf litter is the “primary fuel,” and leaves are complicating matters by falling on containment lines and catching fire again.Weather outlookLow humidity, little chance for significant precipitation and gusts of high winds are worsening the problem.When will it end?The fire has an estimated containment date of Nov. 30. If that containment holds, with mop-up efforts and, hopefully, some rain, the fire eventually will burn itself out.Source: inciweb.nwcg.gov, as of 3 p.m. Friday
CISCO, Ga. – Law enforcement agencies around the Southeast are cracking down on arsonists this fall, but a long-suppressed pyromaniac responsible for starting the nation’s largest active wildfire won’t be charged with a crime.
In fact, Mother Nature is receiving admiration from forestry experts for sparking flames they say are long overdue.
Firefighters from around the country are prepared to miss Thanksgiving with their families as they control the 28,000-acre wildfire in North Georgia’s Cohutta Wilderness, which has contributed to the smoke that has blanketed the region.
But for the most part, these crews are now gently guiding and restraining the fire, allowing it to simmer, as they vigilantly wait for rains to end what started here more than a month ago.