Sunday, November 21, 1999
More called to fight fire after arsonist hits
BY THOMAS S. WATSON
The Associated Press
The re-ignition of a big eastern Kentucky forest fire by an arsonist prompted the Kentucky Division of Forestry to call for more reinforcements Saturday.
The Southern Compact of firefighters from 13 states was notified that Kentucky needed assistance in protecting structures from a 3,100- acre fire in the Myra and Virgie areas of Pike County, according to Division of Forestry spokeswoman Sarah Douglas at the Betsy Layne office.
Pumpers and personnel arrived from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi, she said.
The fire in the “Myra-Virgie complex” scorched 1,500 acres during the week, but was considered under control Friday before it was rekin dled, Ms. Douglas said. No structures were damaged by the rekindled fire but one house was damaged by another forest blaze in the Morgan Fork area of Floyd County, she added.
No evacuations were ordered because of 21 fires burning, primarily in eastern Kentucky. Six of them were in Pike County, including the Myra-Virgie blaze. There were three in Floyd County, two each in Martin, Johnson, Knott and Perry counties and several single fires elsewhere, officials said.
“The rain didn't help,” Ms. Douglas said of light showers that moved across the state late Friday and Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, a voluntary request for help from the Kentucky National Guard Company B, 1st Battalion, 114th Aviation that went out earlier in the week became mandatory, Ms. Douglas said.
Some 230 personnel were expected to be in place as the helicopter support mission over fire zones was intensified. There were already six UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters that were deployed from the Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort dumping water from 600-gallon “Bambi buckets” (water bags that are released by slings under the aircraft).
The ground force will be increased by 40 to 170, according to information released by guard spokesman David Altom. A partial call-up of the Barbourville-based 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry (Mechanized), Ashland's 201st Combat Engineers and Richmond's 206th Combat Engineers already have soldiers battling fires in Kentucky's forests, Mr. Altom said.
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