Blazing Wildfires Force Closures, Warnings in Popular National Park

Two trails in Shenandoah National Park have been closed since Saturday after the Quaker Run Fire wildfire breached a containment line and has been slowly spreading into the park. 

The affected trails include the the entire length of the Wilhite Wagon Trail, as well as entire length of the Graves Mill Trail from the intersection of the Staunton River Trail to the Rapidan Fire Road. On Thursday, the National Park Service said in a statement that additional closures would include the Rapidan Camp area near the eastern boundary in the central section of the park. 

Likewise, visitors are being warned about the smoky conditions and are being urged to plan hikes away from the east side of central area of the park. Due to the "exceptionally dry" conditions, a complete fire ban has been issued, prohibiting the building, attending, maintaining, or using an open fire anywhere within the park's boundaries.

The fire initially began as a 20-acre brush fire by Quaker Run Road near the village of Syria in Madison County on Oct. 24. But as of Saturday evening, it had consumed about 1,900 acres of private, public, and park land; 300 acres more than the 1,600-acre area that local, state, and federal officials were hoping to contain the blaze to.

Controlling the fire has been difficult due to the geography of the area combined with high winds and an ongoing drought.

"When we originally started with this, we were hoping to keep this as small as possible, but the terrain on the side of the mountains, the steep terrain and the amount of rock, made it difficult for our crews to reach it," said Kevin Dawson, a spokesman for Virginia’s Department of Forestry, in a statement to The Daily Progress on Thursday. "The perimeter has gotten larger because of that."

Officials expect that incoming colder weather will alleviate the fire's conditions. In the meantime, streams and rivers within the park are also closed to fishing due to low stream flows and high water temperatures to ensure the long-term health of the fish populations in the park.