The stubborn fire atop Sauratown Mountain is “95% contained,” at press time, having burned about 40 acres.
“We still have a crew of five or six rangers working on the fire each day putting out hot spots and leaf blowing the fire lines each day,” said Jonathan Young, a Stokes County Ranger with the N.C. Forest Service. “We will continue to do this until all the leave fall off the trees or we receive significant rainfall.
A team from across the state has been working the fire, but on Monday the Stokes County N.C. Forest Service team took over management of the incident.
“Tuesday we experienced our first re-burn within the fire perimeter that was quickly taken care of by the crew that was working. Leaves continue to fall across the burned area and when hot spots flare up they have the potential to ignite the newly fallen leaves within the fire lines. These are what we are concerned with and will continue to monitor.”