Wildfires burn NK, CC acres

Woodland and brush fires driven by strong winds gusting over 50 miles per hour kept fire fighting crews scrambling to protect property in New Kent and Charles City counties last Sunday afternoon.

More than 20 fires erupted in the two localities combined with fire fighters in New Kent at one point battling 14 blazes at the same time. Luckily, there were no reports of injuries or structural damage relating to fires in either county although more than 400 acres were burned.

But two occupants of a vehicle traveling on Route 60 just west of Providence Forge weren’t quite as fortunate, New Kent Fire Chief Tommy Hicks said. A tree toppled by the wind landed on their vehicle, resulting in injuries that required both to be transported to a local hospital.

New Kent 911 dispatchers fielded close to 350 emergency calls on Sunday afternoon relating not only to fires but to trees and limbs felled by strong winds and downed power lines, Hicks said.

“I was monitoring the weather and we had sustained winds of 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 58 miles per hour,” he said.

New Kent’s three fire companies boast 19 units, and all were in service from 2-5 p.m., Hicks said. West Point and James City County provided mutual aide, he added.

“We had fires from Plum Point to Cosby Mill Road,” he said, adding that 225 county acres were charred.

Hicks said the primary cause of the fires appears to have been the wind adversely impacting electric transmission lines and transformers.

Matters were not quite as hectic in Charles City with only two fires reported, but fire fighters were kept busy with a blaze that consumed 200 acres off Warriner Road and the other fire that scorched 15-20 acres near the old elementary school site on Barnetts Road, County Administrator Jack Miniclier said.

New Kent crews assisted with the Warriner Road blaze, he said. Fire fighters were forced to return to the site on Monday to extinguish a flare-up.

Hicks, meanwhile, expressed a note of thanks to residents who aided fire crews.

“We appreciate all that the citizens did,” he said. “So many people came out with drinks and food for the crews and helped pull hose. We couldn’t have done our work without the community’s help.”