Rocky Mount Fire Review 2016

On April 16, 2016, an unattended campfire is suspected of creeping out of its confines and starting the Rocky Mount Fire in a wilderness area within Shenandoah National Park. Over the next several days, it would grow to become the second largest fire in the history of the Park. Ultimately, the fire would be managed by a Type 1 Incident Management Team, involve a Unified Command with the state of Virginia, and burn 10,326 acres over six days. When the Rocky Mount Fire first started, there was also a large, complex search and rescue operation being conducted within the Park boundary. In addition, an early news release referred to the fire being allowed to play as natural a role as possible due to its location. This wording gave some public members the wrong impression of how the Park was managing this fire. As a result, tensions built between the public and the Park about how the fire was being managed. A Facilitated Learning Analysis (FLA) Team was mobilized on July 10, 2016 to conduct a fire review that would address several areas identified by Shenandoah National Park Superintendent Jim Northup.

Large Fire