South end of Skyline Drive closed Wednesday for prescribed burn

 The winter woods along Skyline Drive on Tuesday, April 9, 2013.

Don't worry if you see smoke coming from the Blue Ridge Mountains northeast of Waynesboro today. Skyline Drive's southern end from Rt. 33 south to I-64/Rt. 250/Afton Mountain is closed today as National Park Service firefighters work a prescribed -- or planned -- 500-acre burn in the Jarman Gap area.

The goal of the burn is to reduce hazardous fuels and the threat of a major wildfire. As a result, the fire will help to promote oak and pine regeneration, additional animal food sources and increased plant diversity.The forest of chestnut oak and pitch, Virginia and table mountain pines provides valuable habitat for a variety of wildlife.

We were up there yesterday in the mid-70s temps, and there is plenty of down wood visible through the winter woods. The National Park Service plans for the fire to mimic a natural process by moving slowly up down the ridges with low flames that will mostly travel across the forest floor.

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell
Shenandoah National Park
April 9, 2013