RICHMOND, Va. — Crews battling still-burning wildfires in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley this week have gotten help from the rain and from the state government, which has deployed new resources to the area, officials said Saturday.
“Without a doubt, the rain is helping,” said Cory Swift, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Forestry, who added that the agency had no reports of injuries or fatalities related to the fires, which started midweek amid gusts and low relative wind speeds. humidity.
The fires led to track shutdowns in Shenandoah National Park, a pair of evacuation orders, school closures in at least one hard-hit county and damage to buildings, the full extent of which was not yet clear.
As of 9 a.m. Saturday, increases in containment have been reported for the fires that are part of the so-called Luray Complex, which are burning on a mix of private and national forest service land in Page County, Swift said in a telephone interview. The three larger fires that make up this complex range from 50 to 70% and are managed by a joint command that includes the U.S. Forest Service, the Virginia Department of Forestry and local agencies, according to Swift and an update from the state agency. on social media. One smaller fire of 30 hectares was 0% contained, the department said.
A separate fire in the same area, known as the Rocky Branch Fire, located largely in Shenandoah National Park, was only 10% contained, according to a news release the park shared Saturday afternoon. A weather station in the park had recorded more than an inch of rain in the past 24 hours, “which has slowed the spread of the fire,” the news release said.
Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a statement Saturday morning that fuel trucks arrived in the area overnight as part of a regional emergency response effort his office initiated.
The state is also providing meals and supplies and deploying additional volunteer firefighting capacity “to give some respite to our brave firefighters who have been working all night,” the statement said.
According to Youngkin’s office, the state’s emergency management department is deploying a logistics support team and recovery support teams to initiate damage assessments.
“Heroic efforts continue to be made by our firefighters and it is a testament to their courage, dedication and service to their communities and all Virginians,” said the governor, who met with officials supporting the firefighting effort in Page County on Saturday.
Youngkin’s statement and visit came after Page County officials wrote to him a day earlier, asking him to issue a state of emergency declaration to assist in efforts to prevent further property loss, according to correspondence posted on has been posted on the province’s social media pages. The letter from the chairman of the county Board of Supervisors states that at least 10 to 20 structures are “now in ashes” and that more than 3,400 acres have burned.