Roanoke County blaze reaches 2,000 acres
Posted Feb11, 2008 at 04:41 PM
A brush fire in Roanoke County had spread to more than 2,000 acres by this afternoon, coming within a few feet of several homes but causing more scares than damage.
Although firefighters were no longer battling the fierce winds that fanned the fire when it started on Sunday, they had yet to bring it under control by mid-afternoon.
"It’s so large, we have what I would call pockets of containment," said Chief Rick Burch of the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department.
The fire, which began as two smaller blazes that have now merged, stretches from Timberview Road, just north of the intersection of Interstates 81 and 581, to the Carvins Cove area.
Other than scorched forestland, the most serious damage to date involves a Jeep that went up in flames on Timberview Road. Authorities said the driver apparently got impatient with fire trucks that blocked the road and tried to drive around them.
After the Jeep got stuck in a ditch, its catalytic converter ignited some leaves. As fire engulfed the Jeep, firefighters were forced to turn their attention away from the brush fire long enough to put down a car fire.
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