Tanners Ridge Wildfire
On March 10, 2020 at approximately 1:20pm residents of Skyline Lakes lost power. At that same time, full time resident, Mark Wolsky was watching the strong winds across several mountain ranges that can be seen from his deck, facing New Market Gap. Suddenly he saw a stream of smoke rise from the forest on the saddle between Mt. Chapman and Tanners Ridge Road—near the entrance to Skyline lakes. He recognized that a wildfire had just started and he called 911 at 1:27pm. It was the first call.
Forest Fire, photo taken on Tracey Drive in Skyline Lakes.
Stanley Fire Department, Company 24, first on the scene.
Fire started a half mile south of Skyline Lakes entrance.
Fire burning, then charred remains (photo by Beth Cayer).
According to Stanley Fire Chief, Terry Pettitt, a pine tree was blown down onto a power line, sparking the forest fire. With the dry brush, the fire spread fast, and jumped across Tanners Ridge Road, toward the town of Stanley, in the valley. This was technically a brush fire, as trees were not burned completely. Instead, the fire burned everything in its path at a height of approximately 3 feet.
Page County Sheriff’s Office closed Tanners Ridge Road until further notice. Residents were advised to either shelter in place or evacuate through the back entrance to Shenandoah National Park.
Crews with the Shenandoah National Park Fire Fighters, Virginia Dept. Of Forestry, Stanley Fire Department, Luray Fire Department and Page County Sheriff’s Office all responded to the fire. This was a well-organized and well-coordinated effort by all that participated. The residents of Skyline Lakes are grateful for their speed, skill and dedication.
The winds died down by Tuesday evening, but the fire was still not contained. The following day, fire crews began to back burn, where controlled fires are started to burn fuel in the path of the wildfire, in an effort to choke out the fire. Bulldozers were also deployed to dig trenches as another mitigation strategy. The techniques worked. By Thursday morning, March 12, 2020, the fire was declared to be out.
The fire started from a downed powerline and spread by high winds. It burned 24 acres of private, wooded land. No structures were damaged or in danger of being burned, thanks to the quick response from our local heroes.