Senator Corker tours Hamilton County wildfires

Hamilton County, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Mowbray Mountain, Flipper Bend, and Poe Road fires have been burning for weeks now in Hamilton County. Monday morning, U.S. Senator Bob Corker toured those areas to see the damage for himself.

“People are much more interested in wildfires than what we’re doing in Washington,” says Senator Corker.

After touring the area by helicopter, Corker spoke about what he saw.

“I’ll tell you what’s shocking is just how beautiful is up there.”

Much of the burn  has involved the undergrowth in the forest.

Corker continued, “We have been very very fortunate and there’s very – at least in this region – very little devastation. As a matter of fact, it’s very difficult to tell that it’s even occurred from the air. Because so much of it has occurred on the ground which really preserves the wonderful beauty that we have. ”

Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger was also on hand. He said, “The coordinated effort that we’ve had with federal, state, and local officials – we’ve not had any loss of life or any loss of property, other than just the woods.”

The Flipper Bend Fire is 979 acres, the Mowbray Fire is 899 acres, and the Poe Road Fire is 712 acres. The cost of fighting a combined 2500 acres of wildfires is mounting.

“A little in excess of $600,000 as of yesterday, just for the Mowbray fire, the Poe Road, and the Flippers Bend,” says Jim Dale, Cumberland Assistant District Forester with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

That number does not include the cost of the air drops, tanker drops, helicopters, nor the personnel hours.

Mayor Coppinger said, “We’re really grateful for the instrumental role that Senator Corker played in helping us get this site federalized. What does that mean to us locally? It means that 75% of the costs will be picked up by the federal government.”

Dale added, “When we get into large incidents like we’ve been in, it’s just a tremendous help to have those financial resources.”

East Tennessee Fire Season lasts from mid October into the spring, but the drought is feeding these fires. However, Dale says too much rain at once now will also cause problems. He said, “We naturally want rain to move in, but we would not want to see just a deluge. Because we could be looking at erosion problems, we certainly don’t want that.”

Local firefighters were aided by crews from the Florida Department of Forestry.

The Flipper Bend Fire is listed as 100% contained; the Poe Road Fire is listed as 95% contained; the Mowbray Mountain Fire is listed as 90% contained.

With containment at 90% or better on the 3 Hamilton county fires, Forestry officials hope to send the Florida Crew home tomorrow or Wednesday.

Dale says, “Right now, since things appear to be under control, that the Florida crew will be released maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.”

“Fortunately, it looks like the crew that’s come in to commandeer this – they had planned to stay here for several more weeks – but it looks like they may make it home for Thanksgiving,” said Senator Corker.

The Tennessee Division of Forestry will remain in the area.