Location: The 5862-acre Archer Knob prescribed burn is located in Augusta County, VA on Great North Mountain, 2.7 miles southwest of Craigsville and seven miles northwest of Deerfield.
Date and Time: The Forest Service plans to begin ignitions on Sunday, April 24, 2022 if weather conditions are appropriate. The Archer Knob prescribed burn is divided into three units. Depending on conditions, these units will be ignited over the next two weeks in the following order beginning with Block 3 (734-acres), followed by Block 1 (2,437-acres), and then Block 2 (2,691-acres).
Objective: These burns are conducted to maintain early successional species, which favor open grass and shrubland habitats as well as to eradicate invasive species.
Road Closure: Road closures will occur for at least three days for the next two weeks while prescribed burn activities are underway. Phillips Lick Road (Forest Service Roads 381), Hite Hollow Road (Forest Service Road 82), Archer Run Road (Forest Service Road 382), and the Hite Hollow shooting range may be temporarily closed during the burn. For your safety, please follow posted signs and comply with road closures when they occur.
Additional Information: Residents of Craigsville and Deerfield and travelers on Little Calfpasture River Road (State Highway 42) may see or smell smoke for several days, especially in mornings and evenings when smoke may settle in low-lying areas. Depending on wind direction, this prescribed burn may have lingering smoke effects.
For the most up-to-date information visit the inciweb site: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7945/
For more information on our prescribed burn program, please contact the North River Ranger District at (540) 432-0187 or visit our website www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GWJNF and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GWJNF