Blue Mountain wildfire could continue for days, 'back burning' begins

For information on submitting an obituary, please contact Reading Eagle by phone at 610-371-5018, or email at or fax at 610-371-5193.

Most obituaries published in the Reading Eagle are submitted through funeral homes and cremation services, but we will accept submissions from families. Obituaries can be emailed to .

In addition to the text of the obituary, any photographs that you wish to include can be attached to this email. Please put the text of the obituary in a Word document, a Google document or in the body of the email. The Reading Eagle also requires a way to verify the death, so please include either the phone number of the funeral home or cremation service that is in charge of the deceased's care or a photo of his/her death certificate. We also request that your full name, phone number and address are all included in this email.

All payments by families must be made with a credit card. We will send a proof of the completed obituary before we require payment. The obituary cannot run, however, until we receive payment in full.

Obituaries can be submitted for any future date, but they must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to its running for it to be published.

Please call the obituary desk, at 610-371-5018, for information on pricing.

Fire crews continue to work Monday morning to contain a wildfire that started on Blue Mountain over the weekend .

Northampton County posted on social media Sunday night that the fire would be in the "back burning" phase, meaning that it is being drawn to areas that have already been burned so that the fire will be deprived of fuel.

There could still be days or weeks of managing flare ups or hot spots, according to the county.

The fire started Saturday night on top of Blue Mountain, near the Appalachian Trail and Route 248, by the border with Carbon County in Lehigh Township.

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources estimated roughly 150 acres had burned. No one was injured and no structures were damaged. Additionally, no evacuations are planned or expected.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure said Monday morning that there were about 100 workers from the DCNR helping fight the fire. Helicopters started at the beginning of the day to help.

"Today's main mission is to make sure they have solid fire break at the bottom of the mountain and to slow the creep the eastward," he said.

DCNR spokesman Wesley Robinson said Monday morning that the fire is about 180 acres. A cause has not been determined, and he said it likely won't be until after the fire has been suppressed. There is no timeframe on how long that may take.

As of Monday morning, about 28% of the fire has been contained, he said.

The Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Co. posted on social media Sunday night that the fire was moving slowly down the mountain as planned, and the backburn was secured to the southwest area. Crews worked overnight to handle the fire, and are continuing during the day Monday.

The wildfire comes after the Lehigh Valley experienced its driest month on record in October. Just .02 inches of rain fell throughout the entire month. Both Lehigh and Northampton counties are under a drought watch .

A number of municipalities in the region, including Lehigh Township, have issued burn bans for the foreseeable future.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Originally Published: November 4, 2024 at 9:45 AM EST