Last Updated on March 16, 2018 10:13 am
A tree that fell on power lines was the cause of a Thursday fire in the Stewart Simmons Fire district.
The tree broke one line in half in the area of Elk Ridge Road, according to Jay Kerley, Watauga County Assistant Fire Marshal.
Kerley tells WataugaOnline.com that half of the power line fell into a tree and got it hot enough to smolder while the other half fell in the woods and started the fire. Initially it was thought that structures were threatened, but upon arrival SSVFD found about .25 acres burning with no structures threatened.
Kerley added, “We dug a hand line around the fire and wet down the hot spots, cut the tree out of the road. Blue Ridge Energy responded and killed the power to the line, repaired the line and restored the power.”
Stewart Simmons Fire, Deep Gap Fire, Boone Fire, Ferguson Fire (Wilkes County), Watauga County Fire Marshal and NC Forestry responded to the scene.
