Signal Mountain Brush Fire Update

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A brush fire that started two days ago on Signal Mountain continues to burn this evening.

As the brush fire continues through the week, officials say it became harder to fight without extra help from more than a few local area fire stations.

“Fire officials here are reporting that we’ve made significant improvements to the new five acres that are on fire, which is on Roberts Mill Road.”

Amy Maxwell, with the office of emergency management in Hamilton County, says efforts to extinguish the dangerous brush fire on Signal Mountain are still underway, two days after it first started, adding a serious burden on the local residents who live there.

“Right now, there’s no way of getting up the mountain. It’s unfortunate for right now, and we understand that it’s a big inconvenience for all those that live up there, but we’re asking for everybody’s safety.”

According to Maxwell, the fire was first reported Saturday afternoon, and since then volunteer firefighters have had their hands full, but then came Monday morning

“We had a challenge today, obviously we went back to full time jobs, so many power was a strain on us this morning. But we did get a lot of the surrounding agencies from our county to help assist us today. We’ve had about 35 continuous personnel in the woods, pretty much all day today.”

The fire is suspected to have been started by an unattended campfire, but according to officials, we’re under a strict no burn ordinance.

“We’re just asking everybody to not burn anything, we’re talking about trash, we’re talking about any kind of fire pits that you have on your back porch. The problem is this, you might be around it, and can monitor it, but the problem is the wind picks up those ambers and start a fire in a matter of minutes. Especially when it’s so dry and the terrain is so dry right now.”

Firefighters and officials were taken out of the woods shortly after 7:15 this evening, after the sun set, because it gets too dark to see out there, making it too dangerous to fight the flames.

But officials say they hope to have the fire contained by tomorrow.