Much of the land in Appalachia is underlain by limestone, a rock that dissolves under pressure from water. The result— underground caves and ponds created by sinkholes. Several of them are found in remote Augusta County on 37 acres of mostly wooded land according to Virginia Greene with the state’s department of conservation and recreation.
“It has, on the property, Shenandoah sinkhole ponds – which are natural communities is unique to the Shenandoah Valley.”
You might, for example, find tiger salamanders.
“It’s black with yellow orange blobs on it, so somebody thought it looked enough like a tiger to call it that," Greene explains. "The really cool thing about it is how big it is – 7 inches. The one I found here was as big across as my hand!"
And they’re home to unusual plants – like sneeze weed.
“I’m not sure why it’s called that," says. "I have sniffed it, and I did not sneeze.”
Oaks and hickory trees have, historically, grown up here, but these days other species have taken root— sucking water from the soil and from sinkhole ponds, so people trained to set and extinguish controlled fires arrived here last week with torches.
They’ve cleared paths through these woods to serve as fire breaks, then used torches to set flames that dance across the forest floor, taking out leaves and new tree seedlings while the old oaks with their thick bark have adapted to fire and do not burn.
It takes less than a day, but Greene says weeks or months of planning are needed beforehand.
“You never just show up and light a match.”
Her crew has taken hours of classes to be certified. They learn about the physics of fire, the social structure of a fire crew, how different fuels burn, how weather impacts blazes, how to handle pumps and other equipment – and they take a physical fitness test.
“What we train for is carrying 45 pounds over three miles in 45 minutes.”
The ground is damp and the winds light, so conditions are ideal. Smoke spreads quickly through the forest, and small animals move away or stay underground until the fire passes. A few days later, deer and other plant eaters discover small, tender greens coming up from the charred ground, and wild turkeys find it easy catch bugs now that they can’t hide under dead leaves.
“Our fire really benefits turkey populations. We’ve heard turkey on the unit since we’ve been burning here today,” says Eric Homan with a non-profit partner – the Nature Conservancy. He finds the work tremendously satisfying.
“I like getting out and using positive fire as a way to restore our forests here locally.”
And his colleague Trevor Sager says the work is addictive.
“I’ve got a bug – a fire bug. It bit me!” he jokes.
By burning away fuel in the forest, they help to prevent more damaging wildfires from breaking out.
With invasive species burned up, Greene says native trees like oaks have a better chance of sprouting and surviving.
“For non-fire adapted species like maples, they don’t like the fire, so they don’t grow as well when there’s fire, but oaks are really the backbone of the ecosystem in a lot of ways. If you look at that white oak right there, there’s all those nooks and crannies for insects to hide in that birds can go eat. They produce acorns. White oaks tolerate holes having in them for nesting, for birds or squirrels whoever gets there, and if the tree stands for a long time, that nest will help lots of tenants.”
After a few hours, the fire has mostly burned itself out. Crew members use metal tools to put out remaining embers and spray water on areas that have burned. They’ll check back for the next few days to be sure no new fire appears. Then it’s on to new destinations. The state owns 66 nature preserves, some in need of fire to flourish.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
