News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A Sunday night wildland fire burned about five acres in the area of Cumberland County’s Big Rock Mountain.
Assistant District Forester Jim Dale said state and county fire crews have managed to contain the blaze.
“As of this morning, the fire has laid down. The humidity levels have come up significantly this morning with the rain that’s going to be moving in a little later,” Dale said. “Right now, all that we have left up there is maybe two or three burning snags on the interior of the lines. It’s perfectly safe, but until we get rain in here the public is very likely to continue seeing smoke coming up from that fire.”
No injuries occurred while crews battled the blaze and Dale said a cause remains unknown.
“We class those as undetermined fires at the present time because one of our investigators has not been on the scene yet to do an investigation,” Dale said. “I can tell you that it’s a very popular area for ATV activity and has been for several years. We suspect that might have something to do with it, but right now we have to classify it as undetermined.”
Big Rock Mountain sits above the Crab Orchard rock quarry near Interstate 40. Dale said the area has a rich fire history and burns quite frequently.
