Blue Mountain wildfire 100% contained, officials say
The fire that started almost a week ago on Blue Mountain in Northampton County is 100% contained, according to officials.
Bob Kurilla, spokesman for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said Friday morning that nearly 600-acre fire that started Saturday on Blue Mountain in Lehigh Township is 100% contained.
He said crews will continue to mop up and patrol throughout the weekend because the fire burned deep from drought conditions. There have been no issues with the fire getting outside of their control lines, he said.
The firefighting efforts will be handed to the William Penn Forest District later in the day Friday.
Crews have been handling the fire nonstop since it started Saturday afternoon near the Appalachian Trail and Route 248, by the border with Carbon County. No structures were damaged, and no one was injured in the fire.
Kurilla said depending on how much rain the area gets Sunday, crews may have to work beyond the weekend. The National Weather Service said up to half an inch of rain could fall Sunday into Monday, marking the first significant rainfall for the Lehigh Valley in some time.
October was the driest month on record for the Lehigh Valley. The weather service recorded .02 inches of rain throughout the entire month. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection placed Lehigh and Northampton counties under a drought watch.
Forecasters noted that the rain will not put a "significant dent" in drought conditions though.
A number of towns in both counties have issued burn bans. The Northampton County Council on Thursday passed a countywide burn ban, which goes into effect Sunday. It last for 30 days.
