Terrain too steep for bulldozers and interlocked tangles of trees downed by Hurricane Helene have left much of the battle against the Table Rock Mountain wildfire to firefighters on foot.
After blackening more than a thousand acres, the blaze blamed on four young hikers is finally being contained by the only operation that has lent itself to mechanical warfare.
Working into the night Sunday , tractors were able to cut a wide lane connecting with fire lines from the 2016 Pinnacle Mountain Fire to stymie the fire's advance toward as many as a hundred homes in its path.
Evacuations already carried out are still in force, but no new ones are likely. Authorities are urging area residents to pay attention to the situation, traffic still advised to avoid the area of Highway 11 near park entrances.
The park itself is closed along with Caesar's Head and Jones Gap State Parks. Red Flag bans on outdoor burning are also still in effect, Governor McMaster adding over the weekend that his emergency decree means violators will go to jail.
