STOKES COUNTY, N.C. — What a difference 24 hours can make. Monday there was a growing ring of fire on Sauratown Mountain.
Tuesday, flames were no longer visible. But Jimmy Holt with the North Carolina Forest Service said they have a long way to go.
"We have a good hard black line. We're very confident that's where a lot of our 41% containment comes from. Division Alpha and C that's going to take some additional work," Holt said as he pointed to the fire map.
Holt said despite help from Mother Nature some areas of the Sauratown Mountain fire will take a while to tackle.
"That hand line in here is going to have to be widened and improved," Holt said pointing at the map. "There's a lot of hot spots crews were reporting."
Firefighters from across North Carolina and other states have spent the past three days working to get a handle on the 750-acre fire.
Bobby Carmon, interim fire marshal for Guilford County packed up to help out.
"It was real different this was very unique," Carmon said. "I seen a lot of burnout activities by the forestry. I don't think I've seen that aggressive of a burning out."
Carmon put together a 20 man crew that included firefighters from Summerfield, Pleasent Garden, and McLeansville to fight the fire Saturday night and into the early morning.
"It was interesting they used fire to fight the fire. So we supported back burning to protect those structures," Carmon said. "We were on residential structures for the most part."
Those overnight efforts helped contain 41% of the fire.
For most of the day Tuesday, Holt said they didn't attack the fire but mostly patrolled the area and checked snags near the fire line.
They've also cut back on manpower, going from 60 people Monday to just 25 Tuesday.
"They will be around structures and around the perimeter of the fire actively patrolling and monitoring as well," Holt said.
By the morning when the fog and rain clear, holt said they'll have a better idea of what needs to be done to put the fire completely out.
Even though evacuations have ended Holt said they have firefighters monitoring the Mountain Top Youth Camp over concerns trees might fall.
He also said once the fire is completely out clean up will take some time because his team plans to dig 30 feet into the black area for mop-up.