UPDATE: Wildfires Burn Nearly 17,000 Acres in Virginia
COVINGTON, Va. (AP)
April 12, 2012
Firefighters continue to battle wildfires that have burned nearly 17,000 acres in Virginia.
The largest fire is in a remote area in Alleghany County ten miles west of Covington. The U.S. Forest Service says nearly 7,000 acres have burned since Saturday.
Another fire in Page County is more than six miles long and has burned 5,400 acres. Large fires also are burning in Craig and Shenandoah counties, along with smaller fires in other areas.
The Forest Service says more than 360 firefighters from 23 states have helped battle the blazes.
A section of Route 850 near the Alleghany-Rockbridge county line and part of Route 770 in Alleghany County remain closed because of wildfires
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Weekend hail storm damages homes, boathouses, cars at SML
Posted: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 11:04 am
Severe thunderstorms strafed and pummeled parts of the Smith Mountain Lake region late Saturday afternoon, damaging homes and vehicles and frightening residents, many of whom fled to their basements to ride out the tempest.
Residents said half of the 90 homes in the Boxwood Green community on the Franklin County side of the Lake sustained varying degrees of damage from golf ball-sized hail that smashed windows and shutters, stripped siding off of dwellings and boathouses and destroyed roofing materials. The storm also did damage in Park Place, Three Quarter Point, Winding Waters, the Boardwalk, and Smith Mountain Lake State Park after it crossed into Bedford County and eventually diminished in intensity. Some flooding and downed trees also were reported.
"I've never been in a storm like this...I saw this big, swarming mass," said Peter Kauffman, a Boxwood Green resident who took photos of a swirling, churning storm as it approached, then took shelter in his basement with family members, neighbors and pets. "Everyone was cowering in the basement."
Read more:
State of the Climate
Tornadoes
April 2011
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Climatic Data Center
State of the Climate
Tornadoes
September 2011
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Climatic Data Center
State of the Climate
Tornadoes
October 2011
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Climatic Data Center
