An all-day dousing rain did its work on Tuesday, as the U.S. Forest Service put out what it described as its last smoke outlook on the Matts Creek Fire on Wednesday morning.
“No additional fire growth occurred yesterday,” the Forest Service stated. “Fire crews will now shift their energy to extinguishing any remaining heat sources along the perimeter. Roadside hazards like weakened trees, rockslides, and smoldering stumps will be mitigated to tuck this fire response in for the duration.”
The Forest Service said that leaf litter and brush will not be available to burn again until after there are several more warm, dry, windy days without additional moisture. Smoldering stumps and logs will produce brief, localized areas of moderate air quality, the Forest Service said, but “passing light rain showers, cooler temps, and limited availability of fuels to burn will help keep the air quality between good and moderate across the entire forecast area into the winter.”
About 3.5 inches of rain — or more than 1.1 billion gallons of water — is estimated to have fallen in the vicinity of the Matts Creek Fire, the Forest Service said.
The fire has burned 11,020 acres — a 4-acre increase from Tuesday’s figures indicative of more accurate mapping, the Forest Service said — in and near the James River Face Wilderness Area in northern Bedford County since it started on Nov. 12.
No residences were affected by the fire, and fire crews were even able to save the Matts Creek Shelter and privy along the Appalachian Trail in the midst of the burn area. The Blue Ridge Parkway has also been reopened along the eastern edge of the burn zone.
Across Southwest and Southside Virginia, widespread rainfall of 1-3 inches occurred on Tuesday with locally heavier amounts as a strong low-pressure system moved northeastward west of the region, its counterclockwise flow lifting abundant Gulf of Mexico moisture against the Appalachians.
Most of the western two-thirds of Virginia was rated in moderate to extreme drought on the last U.S. Drought Monitor issued last Thursday. Because the monitor is based on data through early Tuesday, the new U.S. Drought Monitor will likely reflect little change when it is issued later this week, not considering most of the widespread rainfall that occurred on Tuesday. The rainfall was not sufficient to entirely relieve drought, in any event, which would have required 4 to 8 inches of rain.
Cooler temperatures with 40s and 50s highs, 20s and 30s lows, are expected through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and into next week. There is currently no probable chance of additional rain within the next week, as one potential system likely remains to our south and east over the Thanksgiving weekend, but the weather pattern may be conducive to additional precipitation in the next couple of weeks.
