By Stephen Smoot
The Year of Our Lord 2025 has brought to Pendleton County extremes in weather duality. From January to June, the snows, then rains, seemed endless. Streams continually threatened, and sometimes succeeded in, bursting over boundaries, causing flooding.
Relentless rain helped to push the decisions to move county offices to higher ground while also serving as the impetus for a Town of Franklin and Mon Forest Towns project to examine stormwater flow through the town. Pendleton Senior and Family Services on one occasion saw its executive director and staff bailing water from the building to prevent serious damage.
Since late July, however, about two-thirds of the state have seen just as relentlessly dry and sometimes windy conditions driving the region to the opposite extreme of drought. According to the federal government website drought.gov, West Virginia saw its 45th wettest “January-August on record (since 1895)” two inches higher than normal, but also the second driest recorded August, almost two and a half inches lower than normal.
Pendleton County also experienced the 46th wettest January to August cycle, two inches more than normal, but also the seventh driest August since 1895, 2.22 inches less than normal.
From Charleston east through Nicholas County and north following Interstate 79, the state has seen
D0 – Abnormally Dry conditions. Almost all area east of those lines has seen at least D1 – Moderate Drought. Pendleton County, eastern Randolph, eastern Pocahontas, and some or all of the rest of the Potomac Highlands counties currently see D2-Severe Drought.
Dry conditions have combined with the regular appearance of high winds that form as a natural result of the normal temperature fluctuations in seasons of temperature transition, such as autumn and spring.
These weather conditions have led to a second active week for Pendleton County, State of West Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia, and United States Forest Service firefighting and rescue personnel. Just as the fire on Big Mountain, according to the Pendleton County Office of Emergency Management, “reached a substantial level of containment and extinguishment” on Nov. 11, blazes broke out elsewhere in the county.
Quick detection and reaction prevented a fire behind Eagle Rock in Smoke Hole Canyon from expanding significantly. By 6:13 last Wednesday morning, however, combined efforts of volunteer fire departments from Upper Tract, Franklin, South Fork, Moorefield, and Petersburg, joined the Pendleton County Office of Emergency Management and also the West Virginia Division of Forestry.
Crews battled all of the four ancient Greek elements. Winds howled through the difficult mountain creases and passes. Crews had to board boats to traverse the South Branch River to get to the site.
Overnight another, more dangerous fire, broke out on the windswept slopes on Greenawalt Gap. Throughout the day on Nov. 12, crews worked to both contain the blaze and also protect several cabins and other structures threatened by fire. That night, officials reported 80 percent containment.
Rick Gillespie, Pendleton County Emergency Services coordinator, updated local and regional emergency response officials at the Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting last Thursday. He explained how infrared drone technology helped to identify threatened structures, as well as giving indicators on how to most effectively and safely deploy personnel and equipment.
By this point, the Greenawalt Gap fire had burned 170 acres, but crews had established 90 percent containment. West Virginia Division of Forestry personnel stayed on site for “mopping up” as the volunteers went home for well-deserved rest.
In any fire, in any season, as the hours pile up, often, so does the support of citizens. A call went out to bring water, sports drinks, and other help for those on the mountain. Citizens brought supplies to the Upper Tract VFD Training Center to be taken to the scene.
Upper Tract VFD also responded to another fire in the area at 1:45 last Thursday. As the UTVFD Facebook page reported, a “large amount of smoke could be seen in the vicinity.”
“With high winds gusting 35 – 45 mph and extremely dry conditions, initial crews had numerous considerations to consider for fire control,” the post explained. Quick response from crews hailing from Upper Tract, Grant, Hardy, and Rockingham (Virginia) counties helped to establish containment even with brutal winds.
All Pendleton VFDs plus those from Petersburg, Maysville, Moorefield, Bergton (Virginia), as well as Pendleton County OEM, Pendleton 911, Pendleton County Rescue Squad, West Virginia Division of Forestry, and “great support of food and drinks” and “many more people who donated” were appreciated. Also, “the prayers for a safe and effective fire containment” went answered.
Wildfires in high winds can bring even more dangerous unpredictability than structure fires. As the post shared, “at various times, crews were establishing fire lines just to have the raging fire spread over them. Crews had to regroup and then retreat to safer areas of refuge, then attempt to re-establish their lines.”
The Pendleton OEM expressed appreciation for the units “working hard” last week to protect lives and property. Those included West Virginia Division of Forestry, Upper Tract Volunteer Fire Department (first on scene), as well as VFDs from Franklin, South Fork, Circleville, Seneca Rocks, Petersburg, Maysville, Moorefield, Bergton (Virginia) and Pendleton County Emergency Rescue.
The United States Forest Service late last week added a warning that, though contained and officially extinguished, dry windy conditions “could cause smoldering materials to reignite” on Big Mountain and any of the recent blaze locations could see the same. Personnel remain on scene at Big Mountain to monitor and only officially permitted drones may fly in emergency areas as crews work all wildfire sites in the area to prevent reignition.
Conditions as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches will likely not improve. The National Weather Service seven-day forecast indicates no rain coming in the next week. Additionally, the drought.gov site speculated that drought will persist well into winter.
“Thanks to all involved for your dedication and service to the community,” read the final post on the initial Greenawalt Gap fire on the Pendleton 911 and OEM Facebook page.
