Firefighters have reached 50 percent containment in a weeklong forest fire at the Monongahela National Forest in Pendleton County, officials said.
The fire started Nov. 10 in the Monongahela National Forest and has grown to about 1,600 acres but the cause still is under investigation.
Officials said the emergency closure, which affects the National Forest System area around the fire, would continue to be in effect. However, the majority of the Monongahela National Forest and West Virginia Wildlife Management areas remain open.
According to the release, the emergency closure order affects the Redman Run Trail from the North Fork Mountain Trail to Smoke Hole Road, National Forest System areas in Pendleton County between Highway 28 and 55, and Pendleton County Road 23 to Eagle Rock.
The National Forest System areas north of Dry Hollow Creek and Dry Hollow Creek to the northeast boundary of Seneca Rocks are affected along with the Seneca Rocks area boundary to the northwest boundary of Seneca Rocks on the Cheat-Potomac Ranger District of the Monongahela National Forest. The fire is in the Smoke Hole area of the Cheat-Potomac Ranger District about 11 miles southwest of Petersburg in Pendleton County.
From The Charleston Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.com/News/201311170050