Blue Ridge Parkway trails reopen following wildfire containment near Pisgah Inn
A wildfire that burned through 370 acres off the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Pisgah Inn has been contained, and trails that were closed have reopened May 4 following rain, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Barnett Branch Trail 618 above Yellow Gap Road, Buck Springs Trail 104 and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail from U.S. 276 to the Pisgah Inn have reopened.
A section of the parkway that was closed due to the fire reopened April 29, as well as Frying Pan Tower and the road leading to it, which sit about 20 miles southwest of Asheville.
Past reporting: Blue Ridge Parkway fire 80% contained, says USFS; cause is suspected unattended campfire
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Yellow Gap Road reopened April 30.
Personnel assigned to the fire May 3 were patrolling and "available for initial attack" in case a new fire started, said Robert Beanblossom, a Forest Service spokesperson.
The fire damaged a footbridge, but it has was repaired May 2, Beanblossom said. No other structures were damaged, and no one was injured, he said.
The fire's cause is still being investigated, but is suspected to have started from an unattended campfire, he said.
The fire was first reported April 27.
About 12 to 14 Forest Service personnel were on the scene when the fire first started, with a peak of 45 firefighters responding to the fire May 1-2, Beanblossom said. On May 3, there were five staff, with a fire engine, he said.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most-visited national park site in the country. It had 16 million visitors in 2021. It stretches 469 miles from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smokies in Cherokee, and passes directly through Asheville.
Ryan Oehrli is the breaking news and social justice reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email coehrli@citizentimes.com or call/text 252-944-6816 for tips.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Blue Ridge Parkway trails reopen near Asheville after fire contained
