The Dangers of the Fire Swamp

As we returned to our adopted home town of Norfolk, Virginia this morning we couldn't help but note the smell of smoke thick in the air. For those of you not paying attention to the news in Southeastern VA and Northeastern NC, the Great Dismal Swamp is on fire.

That's right, a swamp is on FIRE!

Well, not the swamp really, it's the peat underground. It's burning much like a coal mine fire. The fire is underground. Often times the first sign the firefighters have that there is fire near by is when a tree falls on or near them. 

We're told the last time the Great Dismal Swamp was on fire, in the 1920s, it took three years to extinguish.

What is needed is a "rain event." Something that can soak the ground quickly with 12 inches or more of rain in a short time.  Meteorologists  call such events by two names: hurricanes and tropical storms.

The good news is that about every five years the Tidewater area gets a hurricane or tropical storm. The last hurricane/tropical storm that hit this area was Hurricane Isabel in September 2003, which I wisely weathered on the beach in Key West. Anyway, the good news is that the area is due for a hurricane/tropical storm.

The bad news is that the area is due for a hurricane/tropical storm.

-Jim