BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — Fire crews from throughout the eastern panhandle and several surrounding states have been battling a growing forest fire since Monday in the area of Cacapon Resort State Park.
“The crews departed yesterday. It started around 5:00. The main part of the local resources, which would be fire department resources, left about midnight,” according to Marshall Younker Director of Emergency Communications for Morgan County.
Younker confirmed crews from the state forestry division stayed on scene most of the night to keep it contained. However around 7 a.m. the fire jumped the fire lines and started to kindle in new places.
Younker said the fire spanned both sides of the ridge and covered about a 10 acre area.
“It’s actually on both sides of the ridge and it’s above the Rock Gap area on the east side and above the Kessel area on the west side.” There were local resources dispatched to assist with containing the fire again.
Residents could see helicopters in the area to help with observation of the fire.
All Morgan County fire & EMS stations currently have units on scene, along with mutual aid resources from Washington, Frederick, and Allegany Counties in Maryland, as well as Jefferson and Berkeley Counties in West Virginia. The West Virginia Division of Forestry and West Virginia State Parks also have personnel and equipment on scene, working alongside our local fire and emergency response resources. additional units from Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and Washington County, Maryland, are currently on standby at Morgan County fire stations should additional incidents or resource needs arise.