Date: April 14, 2009
Contact: Bob Miller, (865) 436-1207
Fire management officials at Great Smoky Mountains National Park have announced plans to conduct a 200 acre prescribed burn just inside the park south of Wears Valley in Sevier County, TN. The burn will take place sometime prior to May 1, but the specific date is weather-dependent.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fire Management Officer, Mark Taylor, said, "The park conducts prescribed burns each year for a number of different purposes including habitat management and hazard fuel reduction. In this case, the purpose is to reduce the build-up of flammable brush inside the park boundary in order to reduce the risk of an un-controlled fire threatening private dwellings located just outside the park."
The planned burn area is bounded by the Park’s Wear Cove Road, Indian Branch, Little River and the park boundary. In preparation for the burn Fire Management personnel have been clearing brush and leaf litter along the boundary and along Indian Camp Branch, which will serve as fire control lines to keep the fire within its planned boundaries. Park fire fighters and fire engines from Wears Valley and Townsend Volunteer Fire Departments will be prepositioned to patrol the lines and suppress any fire that escapes the containment lines.
Park staff members have also been going door-to-door to the homes along the Park Boundary to let residents know about the planned burn as well as to disseminate literature about measures that they can take to prevent their homes from falling victim to wildfires in the future.
The park participates in a national educational program called "FireWise" that provides information and technical assistance to communities on developing strategies that decrease fire risk to personal property. More information on the FireWise program can be found at: www.firewise.org
