Conasauga District Ranger Jeff Gardner, who covers the Cohutta Wilderness, gave FetchYourNews the  following update on the Cohutta Wilderness fire on Friday Oct. 28th.

The fire has spread to 354 acres, up 269 acres from the 85-acre size that FetchYourNews reported on Oct. 26^th. The fire is taking a south to north route along an extremely steep ridge line.  At present, its northern extent is Rough Ridge and Sugar Cove trails; its southern extent is Foster Branch Trail.  Due to winds, the fire is moving more in a  northeasterly direction because winds going through the Cohuttas tend to be out of the south and southwest. Gardner estimates that the fire could grow to 3,000 acres before dying out.

The fire remains an underbrush fire and has not reached the tree canopy.  A tree canopy fire burns much farther faster than an underbrush fire because flames can jump from tree to tree quicker than a fire on the ground.  In a previous update, USFS described this fire as a “creeping fire”.

Gardner laid out the overall plan for fighting the fire as it continues to grow.  To the south, if the fire closes in on Consauga Creek, firefighters will start a back fire that will go north from the creek and burn off the underbrush so when the main fire approaches, it won’t have any more vegetation to burn and will die out.  The creek will be the southern flank of the fire and this type of fire doesn’t have the fuel momentum to jump the creek. To the north, the USFS will let the fire keep burning because the fire’s trajectory takes it into even more remote wilderness inside the Cohutta wilderness area.  Garner said that Jack’s River would then end the northward advance because the fire is not intense enough to jump the river.

On the ground, firefighters are using methods that have minimal impact on the wilderness.  This includes moving deadfall out of hem lines so the fire can’t cross the narrow barrier.  The Forest Service is not using heavy equipment because it’s a wilderness fire and the steep terrain with no access points for motorized vehicles would make it hard to bring any equipment other than what firefighters can hike in themselves.  USFS makes daily fly-overs of the fire.

The firefighting force has increased to 48 people which is the size that the Forest Service originally estimated it needs. The 19- person Hot Shot Tallac Crew is out of California; 19-person hand crew from New Jersey; six-person Buffalo River Crew from Arkansas and a four-person smoke jumper crew.

According to Garner, the possibility of the fire reaching homes in northwest Fannin County is minimal. The direction of the fire is moving away from private land.  The closest structures are in Jones settlement, east of Consauga Creek.  About 25 cabins are located there.

Garner estimates that the fire may grow to 3,000 acres before it burns out.  This means the fire could affect approximately 10% of the 30,000-acre Cohutta wilderness.

USFS has closed the following areas because of the fire:

• Three Forks Trail parking lot – Fire crews and equipment are staged here. The parking lot is not under threat from the fire.
• East Cow Pen Trail – Part, not all, of the trail is closed. The closed section id from parking lot to junction with Panther Creek Trail.
• Rough Ridge Trail – The entire trail is closed from the junction with East Cow Pen Trail to Jack’s River.

There is also a wildfire near Chimneytop Mountain in Brasstown Wilderness in Union County, approximately 1.5 miles west of Brasstown Bald. Due to the wildfire the Arkaquah Trail (FS Trail #29) is temporarily closed from Brasstown Bald Visitor Center to Track Rock Gap.  This fire was discovered on Oct. 26^th.  It is smaller than the Cohutta fire.  (see article “Wildfire Burns near Chimney Top Mountain in Brasstown Wilderness”)

You can keep up with trail closures and fire progress through USFS’ Chattahoochee/Oconee National Forest website or through the USFS Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Facebook page.  There you can sign up for Twitter, Facebook and email updates.

USFS will release new maps of the Cohutta Wildfire early next week.  FetchYourNews will provide an update of the fire at that time.

Fannin County EMA and Fire Department  also warn Fannin residents that currently Fannin County is in high fire danger.  Residents should not burn trash in burn barrels or in the open until the drought is over.  One floating ember can start a fire.

See related article from Oct. 26:  “Cohutta Wildfire Creeps to 85 Acres Wide”