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Lick Mountain Update Wednesday March 23

Related Incident: Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: Announcement Wed, 03/23/2022 - 12:00

Fire staff successfully completed Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn yesterday, Tuesday, March 22. In all, 405 acres were burned. Crews remained on scene all night, patrolling the burn's perimeter. Everything went well!

Rain began falling on the burn area this morning, Wednesday, March 23, at 7 a.m. Personnel and equipment will be on-site today, monitoring and mopping up any areas that need attention, but are confident that today’s rain will extinguish any remaining isolated hot spots.

Monongahela National Forest’s next prescribed burn will be in Pendleton County, near Circleville, at Big Mountain. Fire staff are monitoring weather and fuel conditions for the right conditions to burn there.

Please continue checking InciWeb, https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/, or the Monongahela National Forest’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/MonongahelaNF, for updates on prescribed burning in the national forest.

Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn Update Tuesday March 22 at 430 pm

Related Incident: Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: Announcement Tue, 03/22/2022 - 12:00

The Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn is going well.

Fire staff plan to continue igniting unburned areas within the overall prescribed burn area until sunset, about 7:30 p.m. Then, they will remain on-site patrolling the control lines around the burn area until it is safe to leave tonight.

Rain (and even some snow!) is forecast in this area for tomorrow (Wednesday March 23) through Saturday (March 26). This should put the prescribed burn totally out.

Burning has begun

Related Incident: Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: Announcement Tue, 03/22/2022 - 12:00

Conditions are favorable and the test burn was successful. Burning operations have begun in the Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn area. Fire managers plan to burn the entire unit (405 acres) today. Updates will be posted on this InciWeb site.

Conditions look favorable Crews are gathering on site

Related Incident: Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: Announcement Tue, 03/22/2022 - 12:00

Conditions continue to look favorable for the Lick Mountain prescribed burn today, Tuesday March 22. Crews are assembling on site. They plan to ignite a test burn later this morning. If the test burn is successful, they will conduct the entire prescribed burn. Check back for further updates!

Planning to burn Tuesday March 22 if conditions permit

Related Incident: Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: Announcement Mon, 03/21/2022 - 12:00

If favorable weather conditions continue, fire managers plan to conduct the Lick Mountain prescribed burn tomorrow, March 22. Tentative plans are for an afternoon ignition. Updates will be posted on this InciWeb page. Please check back often to stay in the know!

Monongahela Plans to Conduct Prescribed Burns in Greenbrier County March 22

Related Incident: Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: News Mon, 03/21/2022 - 12:00

Elkins, W.Va., March 21, 2022 — Monongahela National Forest plans to burn the Peach Orchard and Lick Mountain Prescribed Burns on Tuesday March 22, if weather conditions continue to be favorable. The 1,119-acre Peach Orchard burn area is located northwest of Blue Bend Recreation Area, specifically south of Forest Road (FR) 797, east of FR 296, north and west of FR 297. Lick Mountain burn area is 405 acres located west of Neola, specifically south and east of FR 796A, west of FR 796 and north and east of FR 796G.

These prescribed burns will restore, maintain, and enhance wildlife habitat by creating conditions that favor oak reproduction (or regeneration). Many animals depend on oak trees for food, eating acorns, leaves and even bark. Oak tree regeneration is a cycle. Mature oaks need to produce acorns, those acorns need to germinate into young oaks, and then those young oaks need enough sunlight to grow up and mature. A problem at any stage can make the entire cycle fail.

In the past, West Virginia oak ecosystems had widely spaced trees allowing sunlight to shine through gaps between the trees. Fires ignited by Native Americans, European settlers, and lightning helped maintain open forests of oak, chestnut and pine. These fires burned up dead leaves on the ground which allowed acorns to sprout (and survive) in soil rather than in a layer of leaves. Reduced fire activity during the 20th century increased tree and shrub densities, creating more shade on the forest floor and a deeper layer of dead leaves. This hindered oak regeneration and favored tree species whose seedlings can grow in the shade, like maples. These shade-loving trees do not provide the same kind or amount of food for animals to eat as oak trees.

Additionally, in the Peach Orchard area, open fields and brushy habitat along the edges of these fields has decreased during the past 50 to 75 years. Open and brushy edge habitat is important because it provides nesting, foraging and cover habitat for wildlife, such as songbirds, rabbits, grouse, turkey and similar animals.

Prescribed burning supports oak regeneration and maintenance of open/edge habitats. It also reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfires by consuming burnable material on the forest floor under specific weather and fuel conditions that keep the burn manageable. Monongahela National Forest follows strict guidelines for conducting prescribed burns, and takes into consideration environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, smoke dispersion and wind. If any environmental conditions are not within limits, the burn will be postponed.

The Peach Orchard and Lick Mountain burn areas will be closed to the public on the day of the burn, and may be closed for several days after, to ensure public safety. Signs will be posted on roads near the burn areas before and during burning. Residents and Forest visitors may see and smell smoke for several days. If you encounter smoke on the highway, slow down, turn on your vehicle’s lights and drive appropriately for the conditions.

Local radio stations will be alerted to burn activities ahead of time. When burning begins, information, photos, and maps will be available at InciWeb:
Peach Orchard: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8021/

Lick Mountain: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8022/

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Monongahela National Forest Plans Spring 2022 Prescribed Burns

Related Incident: Lick Mountain Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: News Thu, 03/03/2022 - 12:00

Elkins, W.Va., March 3, 2022 — Monongahela National Forest plans to conduct prescribed burns on 2,964 acres in Greenbrier and Pendleton counties from March through June, weather permitting. The purposes of these burns are to re-establish fire’s natural role in the forest ecosystem, improve forest health and wildlife habitat, and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires.

Project areas planned for prescribed burns this spring include:

Big Mountain Unit 1 – 557 acres west of Cherry Grove in Pendleton County
Meadow Creek – 221 acres northeast of Neola in Greenbrier County
One Mile/Lick Mountain – 1,067 acres west and northwest of Neola in Greenbrier County
Peach Orchard – 1,119 acres west of Blue Bend Campground in Greenbrier County

Each burn area will be closed to the public on the day of the burn, and may be closed for several days after, to ensure public safety. Signs will be posted on roads near all prescribed burn areas before and during burning. Residents and Forest visitors may see and smell smoke for several days. If you encounter smoke on the highway, slow down, turn on your vehicle’s lights and drive appropriately for the conditions. Prescribed burns are conducted under specific weather conditions and are designed to accomplish pre-determined forest management goals. Monongahela National Forest follows strict guidelines for conducting prescribed burns, and takes into consideration environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, smoke dispersion and wind. If any environmental conditions are not within limits, the burn will be postponed. Local radio stations will be alerted to burn activities ahead of time. When burning begins, information, photos, and maps will be available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Peach Orchard Prescribed Burn Update Wednesday March 23

Related Incident: Peach Orchard Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: Announcement Wed, 03/23/2022 - 12:00

Fire staff successfully completed Peach Orchard Prescribed Burn yesterday, Tuesday, March 22. In all, 1,000 acres were burned. Crews remained on scene all night, patrolling the burn's perimeter. Everything went well!

Peach Orchard Prescribed Burn Update Tuesday March 22 at 430pm

Related Incident: Peach Orchard Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: Announcement Tue, 03/22/2022 - 12:00

The Peach Orchard Prescribed Burn is going well.

Fire staff plan to continue igniting unburned areas within the overall prescribed burn area until sunset, about 7:30 p.m. Then, they will remain on-site patrolling the control lines around the burn area until it is safe to leave tonight.

Rain (and even some snow!) is forecast in this area for tomorrow (Wednesday March 23) through Saturday (March 26). This should put the prescribed burn totally out.

Burning has begun

Related Incident: Peach Orchard Prescribed Burn

Publication Type: Announcement Tue, 03/22/2022 - 12:00

Conditions are favorable and the test burn was successful. Burning operations have begun in the Peach Orchard Prescribed Burn area. Fire managers plan to burn the entire unit (1,119 acres) today. Updates will be posted on this InciWeb site.

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