Morgan County firefighters from all four county companies were joined by regional woodland units in fighting an expansive woodland fire on Monday evening, November 9, on two faces of Cacapon Mountain, including acreage in Cacapon State Park. On Tuesday morning, fire operations were resuming to keep the burned area under control as winds picked up.
According to assessments by the West Virginia Division of Forestry shared with Morgan County 911, more than 10.7 acres of forest were involved in the fire that was first reported by the public around 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
By midnight on Monday, fire crews from across the region and Forestry and park staff had contained the fire and turned the area over to the West Virginia Division of Forestry for overnight monitoring.
On Tuesday morning, forestry crews called in additional fire units to reestablish fire lines to keep a perimeter around the scene and tamp down hot spots which continue to be active. The public is asked to stay out of the fire response area while those operations continue.
According to Morgan County 911 director Marshall Younker, dispatchers received more than 45 calls about the visible smoke on Cacapon Mountain late afternoon on Monday, with reports of smoke on both sides of the mountain.
In an effort to determine the scope and true location of the fire, local emergency officials called in help from Maryland State Police Trooper 5 helicopter to fly over the burning area. Captain James Steiner of Berkeley Springs Volunteer Fire Company accompanied the helicopter crew. Steiner was command on the fire scene.
Based on an aerial assessment, fire crews were dispatched the east side of Cacapon Mountain through Cacapon State Park, which has an access road that stretches along the top of the mountain.
Fire units also approached the blaze from the Great Cacapon side of the mountain via Kessel Lane. Access on the western side of the fire was a serious challenge.
“The fire was eight miles from a decent road on the west side,” Younker said.
From Cacapon State Park’s Overlook Trail, brush units, all-terrain vehicles and UTVs were able to travel northward toward the center of the fire. Tanker units were able to stage at the overlook and fill the smaller water tanks on brush and UTV units as they fought the fire.
At 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, additional brush and wildland units were being dispatched back to Cacapon Lodge Drive for additional fire operations.
Fire units responding to the incident included South Morgan Volunteer Fire Company, Berkeley Springs Volunteer Fire Company, Great Cacapon Volunteer Fire Department, Paw Paw Volunteer Fire Company, Jefferson County Wildland Co. 6 from Middleway, Hancock Fire Company, Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Company, Orleans Volunteer Fire Company, Washington County Wildland 8 and 4 from Rouzerville and Clear Spring, Washington County Support 6 from Boonsboro, Frederick County Wildland unit from Middletown, Md., Fulton County 55 from Needmore, Washington County 255 support, Morgan County EMS, Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, Morgan County Deputy Reserves, Cacapon State Park and West Virginia Division of Forestry.
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