STOKES COUNTY, N.C. — As of 1 p.m., the Sauratown Mountain fire is still growing but crews have a much better handle on structure protection, according to Jimmy Holt with the North Carolina Forest Service.
Governor Roy Cooper has extended the State of Emergency to the Piedmont area so there will be funding available to help this fire.
Crews feel good about the progress being made to protect the homes in the area as fire operations continue. A tractor-plow unit established a line around the fire.
"The fire is still moving as winds are picking up and as we get warmer and dryer, fire becomes more active," Holt said.
About 150 firefighters are battling the fire at this time.
There is not a burn ban in place at this moment, but they are advising people not to burn any fires until there is significant improvement.
Holt said the mountain is entering peak burning hours between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. and it will remain closed.
He said rain could help but leaf fall is not 'our friend' when it comes to fighting a fire. The leaf fall could cause the fire to spread even more.
The fire was originally reported on Saturday around 7:15 p.m. and the fire had only burned 2-5 acres when crews arrived.
Twenty people actively engaged the fire overnight into Sunday morning.
Fire lines were created using large tractors to prevent spreading along the eastern side of the fire.
Hand lines on the ground were not working so firefighters focused their efforts on protecting local power lines and communications towers.
On Sunday morning, aviation help arrived to assist from the air. Three planes and two helicopters spent the day dropping water on and around the fire.
"Firefighters were not able to go direct today, but we did use the dozer line that went up a powerline east, and south of the fire to do burnout operations," Holt said. "It's in really rugged, rough, terrain. It's very difficult to access and difficult on the crews that are up there."
Holt said the very low humidity has helped the fire spread; however, light winds have prevented the fire from growing even faster.
By Sunday evening, Holt said the fire had grown to 55-60 acres.
Priorities for ground crews include the eastern flank of the fire line, as they continue to protect power lines and communication towers.
Triad fire crews are assisting in protecting about 12 homes located on Sauratown Mountain Road.
The road is currently closed except for local and fire traffic since it is the only route to the top of the mountain, where the fire is burning.
The only evacuation was at a youth camp with about 50 campers, about two miles away from the fire.
None of the nearby homes have been evacuated.
Out-of-state crews that were assigned to other parts of the state were moved to Stokes County, including crews that were assigned to Rockingham County earlier this week.
A burn ban remains in effect in western North Carolina; however, a burn ban has not been issued for the Piedmont, including Stokes County.
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