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Great Smoky Mountains National Park conducted
a 2,300 acre prescribed fire on April 10 and 11, 2005, the
largest burn in
the park’s history. In the interest of safety and efficiency,
most of the burn area was ignited by air using a helicopter
which dropped incendiary spheres. Approximately 30 firefighters
were on hand to assist with ground ignition and monitoring
of the fire. In addition to fire staff from the park, firefighters
included personnel from Kings Mountain National Military Park,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Cherokee, North Carolina,
and the Cherokee National Forest.
The central purpose of the use of fire in
the interior regions of the Smokies is to replicate as nearly
as possible the role that naturally-occurring fires played
in shaping and maintaining the park’s biologically diverse
ecosystem. The Hatcher Mountain burn was conducted to help
perpetuate yellow pine and oak communities. Historically,
the Hatcher Mountain area was predominantly a yellow pine
forest, a condition that was maintained in pre-settlement
days by periodic fire. Over the past 70 years or more, the
pines have been gradually crowded out by maples and other
hardwoods, which can sprout in the shady understory that has
been a result of total suppression of fire. Another factor
in the decline of pines in the Smokies has been a large infestation
with southern pine beetles. The Hatcher Mountain fire is expected
to create a variety of sunny openings and enhance pine regeneration.
The Hatcher Mountain prescribed fire was
located about 3 miles west of the Cades Cove Loop Road and
a half-mile from the park’s western boundary in Blount
County, Tennessee. The fire boundaries were made up almost
entirely of natural and pre-existing human-made boundaries:
Cooper Road to the north, Wilson Branch to the east, Abrams
Creek to the south, and Kingfisher Creek and Cooper Road Trail
to the west.
Contact: Nancy Gray, Public Affairs Officer
Phone: (865) 436-1208
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