Bays Mountain Park to conduct prescribed burn tomorrow
Bays Mountain Park will perform a prescribed burn tomorrow (April 8) as a proactive measure to reduce the amount of leaf litter, duff and downed trees on the mountain. This year’s burn will pick up where last year’s burn ended.
A prescribed fire is the skillful and planned use of fire on a landscape under specific weather and fuel conditions to help restore health to many ecosystems. The Tennessee Division of Forestry promotes the safe use of prescribed fire on both state and private lands in Tennessee.
Weather permitting, the prescribed burn at Bays Mountain Park will begin at approximately 12 p.m. tomorrow, April 8, and encompass roughly 25 acres of land between River Mountain Road and Woody’s Trail. The burn will take approximately four to seven hours to complete.
Bays Mountain Park will be open to the public during the prescribed burn; however, several trails will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on April 8:
- Azalea and Big Oak trails
- River Mountain Road east of the Fire Tower to Bays Mountain Road.
- Woody’s Trail between Big Oak and the Fire Tower.
The mountain bike parking lot will be closed for rescue vehicles and fire truck access. Residents can expect to see heavy white smoke rising from the mountain during the burn.
Employees with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conversation will be conducting the burn with the assistance of Tennessee State Parks, the Kingsport Fire Department and the Dobyns-Bennett High School prescribed burn team.
According to TDEC, a prescribed fire is an important tool in forest health management. Prescribed fires help reduce the catastrophic damage of wildfire by safely reducing excessive brush, shrubs, and trees. They also encourage native vegetation to grow and are used to maintain the many plant and animal species whose habitats depend on periodic fire.
“Our first prescribed burn was a success, in that we reduced forest fuels and invasive species,” said Park Manager Megan Krager. “We want to continue that success by burning another section of forest, basically picking up where we left off from last year.”
For more information about Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium, visit baysmountain.com or call (423)229-9447.
