CHERRY GROVE, W.Va. — A forest fire in Pendleton County grew to close to 80 acres as firefighters worked through the night to get it contained.
The blaze was first reported around noon on Wednesday in an area near Cherry Grove. The U.S. Forest Service has labeled the blaze the “Woodside Fire”. Andrea Brandon with the Monongahela National Forest said the conditions were volatile for a fire to spread.
“The lack of rain, relatively low humidity, and high winds, it’s the perfect storm for fire risk,” she said.
Crews from the U.S. Forest Service along with volunteer fire departments in the area and the West Virginia Division of Forestry battled the fire throughout the night. According to Brandon the 80 acre blaze was about 30 percent contained late Wednesday. She was still awaiting a new update for Thursday morning.
Pictures from a distance showed two large areas of fire and numerous small hot spots where flying embers had spread and caught the leaf litter on the forest floor on fire. Most of the leaves in the higher elevations are now off and adding the fire fuel load.
The hard winds died down overnight Wednesday into Thursday, but the next rain in the forecast isn’t expected until Friday evening and into Friday night.