Growing 5,978-acre wildfire prompts closures on Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail
An out-of-control wildfire in western Virginia has prompted closures on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail near the North Carolina state line, according to federal officials.
The Matts Creek Fire covers 5,978 acres of forest in Bedford and Rockbridge counties and is 2% contained, the U.S. Forest Service reported Thursday, Nov. 16. The fire has more than doubled in size in the past week, reports say.
A 20-mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway has been gated indefinitely to help an estimated 200 firefighters keep the fire from spreading, the National Park Service says. Detours are in place from milepost 66.3, near U.S. Highway 501, to milepost 85.9, at VA Route 43.
“The Parkway is closed to all uses including motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians,” park officials said.
“This proactive closure is due to worsening smoke impacts in the area and allows crews to stage equipment and conduct operations south of the fire boundary using Parkway lands to access the area.”
The fire was reported Nov. 12 in the James River Face Wilderness and is “entirely on National Forest lands within the Jefferson National Forest,” officials say. The cause remains unknown.
Heavy smoke is expected in communities around the fire, depending on winds.
The entire James River Face Wilderness is closed to the public until further notice. Other wilderness closures due to the fire:
- Locher Tract
- Glenwood Horse Trail (FT#3004) from the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Hellgate Trailhead
- Appalachian Trail (FT #1) from James River Foot Bridge to Petites Gap Road (FR #35)
- James River Foot Bridge Parking Lot
- Matts Creek Trail (FT #4/Old A.T.)
- Piney Ridge Trail (FT #2)
- Balcony Falls Trail (FT #7)
- Gunther Ridge Trail (FT #8)
- Belfast Trail (FT #9)
- Sulphur Springs Trail (FT# 3001)
The Blue Ridge Parkway covers 469 miles of winding road “along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains through North Carolina and Virginia,” according to the NPS. It begins at Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park and ends at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.
This story was originally published November 16, 2023 at 4:53 AM with the headline "Growing 5,978-acre wildfire prompts closures on Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail."