One of the founders of the United States government, George Washington, is partly to blame for the large wildfires that burn thousands of acres for months at a time in the Great Dismal Swamp in southeast Virginia.
In an effort to convert the swamp into farmland, Mr. Washington had ditches constructed that drained much of the swamp. The project did not succeed, but the lowered water table created dry fuels that have since been vulnerable to lightning-caused fires that become deep-seated and extremely difficult to put out. Fighting those fires in peat that can be six to eight feet deep involves moving millions of gallons of water, hoping to raise the water level in the areas where the fires are burning.
After the swamp was declared a National Wildlife Refuge in 1974, the US Fish and Wildlife Service began reversing some of Mr. Washington’s changes with a goal of restoring the natural hydrology. The water management structures, including four new ones completed this week, should reduce the likelihood of persistent prolonged fires.
One of the more recent large fires in the refuge was the Lateral West fire, ignited by lightning on August 4, 2011 and contained September 30, 2011 after burning 6,377 acres.
This picture was of the Delaware Inter-agency Wildfire Crew after we broke down one of our many 1/2 mi. to 3/4 mi. long sprinkler setups. We had to get pretty creative with the plumbing and pump show. it was impressive. I was the CRWB for the assignment. We loaded the Bombardier from Blackwater NWR to the hilt. That was a miserable fire in terms containment.
Was in the Great Dismal in 2008 and last year as a fireline medic.The sprinkler system that was put in to smother the fire was impressive. Lots of great crews on both incidents.