Yesterday’s Activities: Existing containment lines held on Friday and crews continued to patrol and maintain those lines while making progress on uncontained fire perimeter. There was a lot of activity around Tate city as crews worked in close coordination with local resources to successfully burnout between containment lines on the slopes above Tate City and the fire’s edge.
On the northeast flank of the fire, firefighters continued building and maintaining fireline, tying in to the Appalachian trail, while scouting for opportunities for contingency lines in front of the fire.
Air operations utilized their full complement of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft on Friday flying the maximum allowable of hours in support of firefighting efforts. Their support helped to keep fire spread in check, allowing ground resources to be more successful.
Today’s Operations: Predicted winds will test firelines today and if new fires start they have the potential for rapid spread. In response, additional resources have been assigned to provide initial attack response and the public is reminded of the importance of extreme caution with anything that could lead to a new fire start.
Crews are being shifted around the fire to strategic locations and additional resources have been added to the night shift. Firefighters will patrol and re-clear existing containment lines on the east, west and south fire perimeter. The wind increases the potential for burning leaves to move outside containment lines.
On the northern fire perimeter, line construction and scouting will continue and as conditions allow, air resources will help to keep fire spread in check. A structure group will be in place at Tate City.
Weather: There is a red flag warning for wind starting and 10:00 a.m. and continuing until 10:00 p.m. Early morning, winds out of the southwest 10-15 miles per hour should switch to come out of the northwest as the morning progresses. Ridgetop winds of 20-30 miles per hour are expected and extreme fire behavior associated with wind is forecast through Sunday. With the predicted winds, fire spread on uncontained fire line could up to two miles on Saturday and when wind and slope align, fire spread could be ¼ to ½ mile per hour (30-50 chains). Firelines will be tested and new fire starts would have the potential for rapid spread. The gusting winds could impact air operations. Fire officials are making use of input from the four remote automatic weather stations (RAWS) that have been put in place for the Rock Mountain Fire.
Evacuations
Rabun County - Call 911 for further information
- Pre-evacuation for Patterson Gap north of Ramah Darom Church Camp
- Pre-evacuation of all roads at Bettys Creek, north of Tom Wilson Rd to the state line; this includes Messer Creek Rd, Hambridge Ct, High Darnell Rd, Bryes Place Ln,
- Pre-evacuation for the Plum Orchard community.
- Pre-evacuation for the Coleman River/Nichols Branch Road areas. Towns County - Call 706-896-7460 for further information
- Pre-evacuation for Tate City and Hightower area.
- Evacuation notice in effect for residents in Clay County NC, north of Tate City in the Dream Catcher Cove Area.
Closures:
- Charlies Creek Road, off Tallulah River Road.
- Tallulah River Road (Forest Service Road 70).
- The Appalachian Trail between Dicks Creek Gap, Georgia, to Rock Gap, North Carolina
- An area closure has been issued for the Nantahala wilderness area
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5100 Blog:
https://rockmountainfire.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @ChattOconeeNF
Facebook: ChattOconeeNF InciWeb
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