Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 23, 1995 TAG: 9503230091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The bigger fire, which burned 65 acres along Virginia 606 between Henry and Ferrum in the western part of Franklin County, started about 10:30 a.m. when high winds blew a tree onto power lines, said Claude Webster, director of public safety. The lines set fire to dry brush. Webster said no homes were endangered.
The winds and recent dry conditions made the 50 or so firefighters' jobs tougher, Webster said.
According to the National Weather Service, the Roanoke area has received 1.16 inches of rain this month - less than half of what is normal.
Franklin County, like many areas, got a shower or two this week, but it amounted to less than half an inch of rain, Webster said .
Firefighters had the fire contained by around 4 p.m., but Webster said some would stay on the scene to combat hot spots throughout the night.
Authorities believe a car they found charred along a road in the Catawba area of Roanoke County may have somehow started a fire there that ultimately burned 15 acres.
The fire, off Sandy Ridge Road, started just before 2 p.m., according Capt. Charlie King of the Mason Cove Fire Dept. said. It took 25 firefighters from three companies until 7:30 p.m. to put out the blaze. King said one barn was in danger of burning, but the flames never reached it.
King said another small fire broke out about the same time near Thompson Memorial Boulevard in Salem, but a creek kept it from spreading.
"If it hadn't been for that creek, we'd have been out there all day, too," King said.
by CNB