BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — It could have been a lot worse, according to those on the scene of a fire on the property of Cacapon State Park Thursday evening.
It was described as a brush fire out of control soon after it broke out just north of the Golf Course Maintenance Shop.
Morgan County Sheriff KC Bohrer was at Cacapon for an event with the Cacapon State Park Foundation when the call came out around 7:15 that there was a mountain fire. “We immediately left dinner and went to work. We were trying to support them by getting them resources. You know, you’re on the Fire Line and you see these guys with fire hoses and how overwhelming the smoke and the heat is, I can’t say enough about these guys, especially the volunteers. It’s just amazing,” Bohrer said.
The Sheriff was able to radio for help immediately. “It (was) a potential mountain fire. When I got there, I’d estimate it was an acre. With the wind situation, we dodged a bullet. Cacapon State Park is one of the jewels of our county. Had the winds went, had the response been not as quick and it got out of hand, those guys could still be fighting fire today,” Bohrer said Friday morning.
The fire was under control by 10:00 Thursday night. Cacapon State Park Superintendent Scott Fortney says they were on Fire Watch all night. The fire was a little intense because of the wind, but we were able to contain it to 2.3 acres.
He credits the response from multiple crews out of the Panhandle and neighboring Washington County Maryland and Frederick County Virginia for keeping the blaze from damaging property or causing injuries.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to the Sheriff. “It’s in an area of park maintenance and there shouldn’t have been anybody there. There wasn’t anything that should have caused that fire. Until you know the reason, you can’t say anything definitively, but it’s suspicious at best,” Sheriff Bohrer said.
The Eastern Panhandle had been under a fire advisory and a high wind advisory most of the day Thursday