ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VA – The mountains you see driving through Rockbridge County look very different today than they did a year ago.
Over 11,000 acres of forest were burned during the Matts Creek wildfire.
Now, people who had their boots on the ground are coming together to reflect on the lessons learned.
“I think things went extremely well. Looking back a year later, I don’t have any regrets,” Forest Fire Management Officer Brent Foltz
A year doesn’t feel that long ago to Foltz and Conservation Coordinator Laurel Schablein.
“This was only one of six or seven fires we had at the time. All the others were much smaller and easier to handle,” Foltz said.
“When you’ve got your resources spread out over so many different areas, that can be difficult,” 10 News Anchor Abbie Coleman said.
“Very tough, very tough,” Foltz said.
Over 11,000 acres burned - stretching across Rockbridge and Bedford counties.
But even with all of the forest destruction - no one was hurt, and no property was damaged.
“Pretty crazy. We’ve looked at it numerous times, and you couldn’t have thrown a dart better in the middle of the wilderness,” Foltz said.
Schablein tells 10 News looking back, the fire actually helped the ecosystem thrive.
“You get really great benefits for all of the Appalachian and plant species that make the Appalachian so unique, so we’re really interested in that part,” Schablein said.
“I think that’s something so many people don’t realize. Because when they hear ‘fire,’ they go ‘oh no, this is awful,’ but it can actually be really good for the ecosystem,” Coleman said.
“Yeah, it’s really, truly critical,” Schablein said.
Controlling the fire took over a week, and took multiple agencies all coming together.
They tell us they now know the fire was human caused, but is still under investigation.
It’s something Denny McCarthy with the Virginia Department of Forestry says is more common than you’d think.
“95% of all of our fires are human caused. Carelessness is very much a big part of why we have a presence of fire in Virginia,” McCarthy said.
They’re urging people not to forget Matts Creek - and to be careful in the woods.
“We don’t want a lot of unplanned events, because that takes us away from the good work we can do for the ecological benefit,” Foltz said.
