Photo by James Short.
Travelers in the area should expect to see smoke and fire activity through most of the day Friday
Lower Providence Fire Department released the following statement on Thursday evening’s brush fire:
On Thursday, the department was dispatched to the area of Valley Lane and Nester Drive in the Betzwood section of the township for a reported brush fire at approximately 5 p.m. Initial callers indicated an area of brush on fire in the area with no further information.
Initial arriving fire units found an advanced fire in light brush and grass on a tract of land of the Valley Forge National Park. Initial units attempted to gain access to the fire area and were hampered due to terrain and advanced fire conditions. Due to moderate winds and extremely dry brush, the fire advanced very quickly further West into the park and into heavy timber and woodlands.
(Credit: Lower Providence Fire Department Facebook)
(Credit: Lower Providence Fire Department Facebook)Incident Command (CH53) requested numerous agencies from Montgomery, Chester and even Berks and Bucks Counties to assist including multiple brush trucks, UTV’s, tankers and engine companies as well as resources from the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety and PA DCNR wild land fire resources.
As the incident escalated, Route 422 Eastbound had to be closed as the only viable access into the affected fire area was via 422, where fire units needed to be staged and water tankers needed to be used to truck water into the incident. Units were ultimately able to gain control of the fire after approximately 2 hours when full containment of the fire was established.
(Credit: Lower Providence Fire Department Facebook)
(Credit: Lower Providence Fire Department Facebook)In all, approximately 15 acres of land was burned due to the fire. Regional fire assets remained on scene putting perimeter hot spots out until approximately 9 p.m. when the incident was turned over to DCNR Pennsylvania Forest Fire Wardens Association District 17 fire resources and Federal Fire resources who remained on scene overnight maintaining a fire line and monitoring fire activity in the burn area.
Due to the deep-seated nature of the fire and the heavy wood that the fire has burned into, travelers in the area should expect to see smoke and fire activity through most of the day Friday, as fire resources work to fully extinguish the fire.
(Credit: Lower Providence Fire Department Facebook)This fire is considered 100% contained with no fire spread expected beyond the established fire lines at this time. Expected rainfall on Sunday afternoon will assist with complete extinguishment of the fire as well.
The LPFD would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of the members and companies that assisted at this very difficult fire. Excellent collaboration and resource allocation amongst departments made this outcome successful.
