Update 2000 hours:
Firefighters Continue to Battle Brush Fire on Poor Mountain

December 31, 2008, 8:00 p.m. (Roanoke County) – Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Department continues to battle a brush fire on the 221 side of Poor Mountain.

Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department was dispatched to a smoke report call around 3:00 this afternoon. Crews had to hike the mountain above Whitlows Auto Crushers off of Ridgelea Road to try and assess where the fire was spreading.

The department has approximately 30 personnel on scene made up of career and volunteer personnel. The Virginia Department of Forestry was called into to assist and have about 12 personnel on scene along with a bulldozer. These crews will work late into the night when efforts will be scaled back for safety reasons.

Additional crews will ramp up again early tomorrow morning and are expected to conduct back burning exercises starting between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon. Residents may see additional fire and smoke.

Crews have now been able to hike the fire area, map the gps coordinates and more accurately estimate that approximately 20 acres have now charred.

No homes are in immediate danger at this time. There are several small hunting cabins in the fire area that are not occupied at this time

Fire investigators are trying to determine what started this fire.

Another update will be provided in the morning around 9 a.m. unless something significant happens before then.

Update 1630 hours:

Firefighters Respond to Brush Fire in the 12’oclock Knob Area

December 31, 2008 (Roanoke County) – Roanoke County Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a smoke report just before 3 p.m. today. Fire Crews have confirmed that there is a brush fire burning, but are still trying to determine how much of an area is burning and how best to attack it.

Currently, there are career and volunteer crews from Bent Mountain, Back Creek and Cave Spring on scene.

Crews are trying to assess the best way to reach areas of the fire to start working on a containment line around the fire.

The Virginia Department of Forestry has personnel and a bulldozer on the way that will assist with digging a containment line.

Updates will be provided as available.

Report by Editor Rhett Fleitz

Roanoke County is on scene of a brush fire in Southwest County off of 12 O’clock Knob Road. The crews are still trying to locate, size-up, and litigate the brush fire. The terrain where the fire is mountainous. The County has alotted many resources to the incident in order to get it out as soon as possible. I am monitoring the fire on the scanner currently.

This is the report from Roanoke County PIO Jennifer Connely-Sexton at 15:50 hours:

Wanting to let you know that our fire crews are on scene of a brush fire in the are of 12 O’Clock Knob.  Fire Crews are currently trying to assess the fire’s size and organize crews to send to locations to try and work on containing this fire.  Obviously, the wind is a concern for us.