Forest fire specialists fight brush fires

LAUREL RUN – State forestry officials brought in more than 60 members of forest fire specialists on Sunday to relieve local firefighters who had been fighting a brush fire in the Penobscot Mountain/Laurel Run area.

Glenn Bell, a public information officer and retired wildfire prevention specialist for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Forestry, said Sunday evening that crews continued to work to contain the fire, which was called in to Luzerne County 911 at about 2 p.m. Saturday.

Laurel Run, which was partially evacuated Saturday night, is still experiencing smoke from the fire.

While no evacuations were in effect Sunday night, residents in the immediate area of the fire should be ready to evacuate if the need arises, Bell said.

The fire is located on Penobscot Mountain and stretches from state Route 309 on the west to Laurel Run Road on the east, and from Penobscot Road on the south to near Pine Run Road on the north. There were some air drops of fire retardant chemicals on Saturday, but Bell wasn’t sure if any were made on Sunday.

He said there are still areas of unburned fuel within the fire area, and residents will see large columns of smoke while containment procedures continue.

Incident Commander Dan LeCrone, a forest fire specialist supervisor with the bureau, asked that people not involved with fighting the fire stay out of the area. He said numerous all-terrain vehicles had been seen “running about in the midst of a very dangerous situation.”

Power poles had been burned and lines may be live and down, and many dangerous snags – burned but still-standing trees – can fall to the ground without warning, he said.

The fire is estimated to be about 1,500 acres in size. As of 7 p.m. Sunday, it was estimated to be about 50 percent contained, Bell said.

Weather forecasts predict temperatures in the low 90s with low relative humidity and winds from 5 to 13 mph today and into Tuesday. Similar conditions and higher wind speeds on Sunday made the fire spread rapidly and slowed containment operations.

It was estimated that more than 100 firefighters from 12 departments had been working to snuff out the fire. Departments involved include Laurel Run, East Berwick, Ashley, Mountain Top, Swoyersville, Laflin and Hughestown boroughs as well as Wright, Salem, Jenkins, Hanover and Plains townships.

Bell said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. He said it appears there might have been two starting points and the two fires burned together.

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Team brought in by state forestry officials relieves local firefighters on Penobscot Mountain.

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