Rehabilitation begins in St. Mary’s Wilderness

Slick conditions created by scattered rain, sleet and snow in the rugged St. Mary's Wilderness Area near Steele's Tavern posed new difficulties Sunday for crews mopping up a sprawling but mostly contained forest fire there.

Around 80 percent of the 4,505-acre fire is now contained, but the remaining area is located in particularly isolated pockets of steep and inaccessible terrain, said Chris Rose, spokesman for the George Washington and Jefferson national forests. The wet conditions make the mop-up effort — finishing fire barriers and clearing away dead trees or debris that have fallen over existing fire lines — a little more challenging and dangerous.

A total of 161 people from national, state and local agencies were on-site today, including members of the Augusta Hot Shots, who were working in the backcountry, Rose said. In addition to the containment and mop-up efforts, crews are beginning to plant grasses and other foliage to help replenish the fire-ravaged parkland.

"Today, they're starting to transition to the rehabilitation stage," said Rose.

The fire could continue to smolder for weeks or even months, Rose said, but the dramatic images of flame-topped ridges and billowing towers of smoke seen in the first few days of the blaze are unlikely to recur.

"It'll continue until we get a really good rain," said Rose. "It won't be like earlier in the week, but there may be the occasional puff of smoke that people see."