Last Week’s Wildfires on I-59 Brought Traffic to a Standstill in Trenton
Photo courtesy of Ronney and Winnie Lee – Taken from Rising Fawn on Lookout Mountain, this photo shows the smoke coming from I-59 on Nov. 14.
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
On the afternoon of Tuesday, November 14th, the median of I-59 just south of the Trenton exit caught fire. Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC), Trenton-Dade County Fire, and South Dade Fire and Rescue responded, while the Dade County Sheriff’s Office and the Trenton Police Department helped close McKaig Road and I-59.
Word-of-mouth reports indicated that the fire started in three or four different spots along the median. It also jumped across to the McKaig Road side of the interstate.
The interstate was shut down between the Rising Fawn and Trenton exits, with traffic rerouted through town and Highway 11. Throughout the afternoon and evening, as school let out and commuters traveled home from work, traffic was extremely slow.
Additionally, a tractor trailer was disabled at the first horseshoe curve going up Sand Mountain on Highway 136. Both lanes were closed until 6:45 p.m. causing further delays.
McKaig Road reopened to residents and emergency personnel only at 6:15 p.m., and all roads were reopened by 7:20 p.m.
The Egypt Hollow wildfire also jumped a break on November 14th, requiring attention from GFC.
That same evening, a Lookout Valley fire started in the woods between Cummings Highway, Wauhatchie Pike, and Reflection Riding Arboretum. Chattanoogan.com reported that the Chattanooga Fire Department assisted Tennessee Forestry with the fire. By Wednesday evening, November 15th, the 25-acre fire was fully contained.
On the afternoon of the 15th, Dade County Stations One and Four responded to a fire in the north end of the county. A pile of pallets and old diesel fuel was found burning near a tiny home. Cody Doyle, a firefighter who responded to the scene, reported that they do not know how the fire started (or who started it), and while the tiny home had scorch marks on the siding, it was otherwise unharmed.
At press time, the Dade County Sheriff’s Office had given many verbal warnings but no citations to burn ban violators.
