A light rain and cloudy skies Saturday morning provided a respite for firefighters battling the week-old wildfire burning in the southern section of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
The fire continues to grow – 9,000 acres have burned so far –but it remains inside the park’s boundaries, and officials are confident they can keep it from threatening nearby homes and communities.
“We’ve established containment lines where we need them and we’ve been holding it pretty well,” said George Dunn, a spokesman with the federal emergency team that is in charge of fighting the fire. The fire is expected to be fully contained by Wednesday or Thursday, but Dunn warned that warmer weather and gustier winds expected in the next few days could hamper progress on bringing the fire under control.
There have been no serious injuries related to the fire and no structures on park or private land have been affected. Helicopters continue to drop water on hot spots, and firefighters have been working nearly nonstop to clear containment lines.
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