Planned backburn operation on Blue Mountain fire overnight; Officials say “days or weeks” are needed to manage flare-ups or hot spots

LEHIGH TWP., Pa. – A fire was intentionally set to burn fuel for the blaze raging across Blue Mountain, officials said late Sunday night.

This comes after the brush fire that broke out Saturday near Route 248 in Lehigh Township burned about 150 acres and would likely burn more before it is fully contained, Northampton County officials said.

County Executive Lamont McClure told LehighValleyNews.com that the fire was about 20 percent contained as crews made progress throughout the day Sunday.

An estimated 200 volunteer firefighters and 35 State Bureau of Forestry employees were involved in the operation.

Crews attacked the fire from the air and firefighters cut lines in the woods to contain the fire and eventually allow it to burn itself out, McClure said.

Around 10 p.m. Sunday, the evening operation was turned over to DCNR State Wildland crews, the Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Co. said on social media.

“The fire is slowly spreading down the mountain as planned and the back burn has secured the southwest area,” the post said.

“To put it simply… there are crews operating around the fire overnight and will be at sites protecting the buildings into the morning, we will continue to update you in the morning.”

A cause of the fire could not be determined.

What is a backburn?

According to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, backburning is a firefighting technique in which firefighters use fire to “fight” fires.

These controlled burns are typically placed along an artificial or natural firebreak in front of an active fire.
Once all the fuel has been burned by the intentionally set fires, the wildfire can no longer spread.

The goal of backburning is to create a slow-spreading and more controllable fire and is often used to assist in wildfire containment.

“The fire is being directed to areas that have already burned so that fuel is removed from the fire and it can be extinguished,” Northampton County said on its Facebook page.

“Even after the fire is contained and extinguished, it will still be days or weeks before any outbreaks or hotspots occur,” the post said.

No injuries were reported and no buildings had been threatened since the initial operation, officials said.

Outlook: The risk of fire is far from eliminated

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National Interagency Firefighting Center

Much of the country, including the Lehigh Valley, is at above-average risk for wildfires this month, according to an outlook from the National Interagency Coordination Center.

The NICC serves as a focal point for coordinating resource mobilization during wildfires and other incidents throughout the United States.

This came after the National Weather Service forecast office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said eight of its nine climate stations set new monthly records for the driest October on record, as well as all-time station records for the driest calendar month.

Many of the records broken came from October 1924 or 1963, the previous driest month in the region, the weather service said.

Only two hundredths of an inch (0.02 inch) of rain fell in the Allentown area, marking both the driest October on record and the driest month on record. The previous records were 0.15 inches (October 1963 for the driest October on record) and 0.09 inches (May 1964 for the driest month on record), respectively.

Tom Shortell and Jim Deegan contributed to this report.