photo by Kim Randall
Officials said Monday night that one-third of a wildfire at Flipper's Bend on Walden's Ridge had been contained within fire breaks.
Firefighters were monitoring the woods fire overnight.
There were 20 wildland firefighters from the Tennessee Forestry Division and Tennessee State Parks back in the woods Monday to tie the top of Flipper's Bend fire breaks with the bottom end of Flipper's Bend. Flipper's Bend is in the North Chickamauga Creek Wildlife Management Area.
Ten additional wildland firefighters from Nevada also came in on Monday to assist with fighting the fire. Officials said 230 acres are currently burning. The top of Flipper's Bend is contained within the fire breaks. The bottom end of Flipper's Bend is partially contained within the fire breaks.
Two helicopters from the National Guard flew water drops on Monday afternoon. Also, helicopters are in Sequatchie County dropping water on another wildland fire. There has been no structure endangerment. Wildland firefighters were cutting large fire breaks and removing any loose tree stumps/debris from potentially catching on fire.
Steep terrain and unstable rocks were a challenge on Monday for wildfire personnel. The weather was in their favor, with light winds.
There is a temporary flight restriction with the Federal Aviation Administration over the general area of the Flipper Bend wildfire. This is to include all aircraft including drones in order to protect the helicopters and airplanes fighting fire suppression at Flipper Bend.
Residents will continue to experience heavy smoke, especially on Walden's Ridge, officials said.
For active wildfire information, go to: http://burnsafetn.org/. This includes a list of current fires being fought by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry. Information includes status, date of initial attack, fire name, county location, acreage, cause and containment.