More than 2,000 acres burned in the Brushy Ridge area of the Cherokee National Forest on Thursday. The fire was set by the U.S. Forest Service.

At least 27 people worked for almost 12 hours to get a successful burn in the Tellico Ranger District. There were no accidents or injuries and the fire stayed within the boundaries set by the forest service.

Using drip torches and fire rakes, fire crew members set a boundary fire around the 2,068 acres to be burned. Others positioned themselves along the perimeter to make sure the fire did not spread farther than intended. Still others monitored the Cherohala Skyway to make sure smoke did not impede drivers?visibility.

After the perimeter was set, the fire crew took a short break, ate their lunch and waited for the helicopter to show up that would finish setting the fire. The helicopter strategically drops chemically treated balls that ignite when they hit the forest floor. But during the afternoon, Tellico District Fire Management Officer Rex Kelley had to tell his crew that the helicopter wasn抰 coming and the central section of the burn area would have to be set by hand. Shortly before 3 p.m., Kelley, who was burn boss for the day, advised his crew if they got in trouble while in the fire there were streams on either side of them and to move toward the water.

The crew set out again carrying drip torches and rakes and wearing 20 to 30-pound backpacks loaded with survival gear and bottled water. They walked some three miles into the forest, coming out on North River Road. There they waited for a ride back up to Grassy Gap, where they started. They couldn抰 go back the way they came because everything they left behind them was slowly and deliberately burning. Fires were set on ridge tops instead of valley floors because fire naturally travels uphill. When it is traveling in its preferred path, fire can spread faster and burn hotter. Forest service workers wanted the fire to travel downhill to keep it slow and controlled. The resulting forest fire was very low intensity with few big flames.

Forest service personnel spend up to a year planning prescribed burns. That careful and precise planning enables fire crews to actually control forest fires. Often when the words 揻orest fire,?are used, people imagine huge flames that quickly spread and engulf trees and hundreds of acres of land. But when the forest fire is prescribed, or planned, that is not the case. Healthy trees are typically unharmed. In fact, just like the fire at Brushy Ridge this week, onlookers would see more smoke than shooting flames or devastation.

揋rowing conditions in East Tennessee allow burned areas to quickly green up within a relatively short period of time. In most cases, a casual observer would scarcely notice that this beneficial tool has been used,?said Tellico District Ranger Keith Lannom.

The forest service uses fire to manage certain areas of the forest for many different reasons. The fire at Brushy Ridge was prescribed to reduce fuels like grass, leaves, brush and accumulated pine needles. By burning these fuels under controlled conditions, it reduces the amount of fuel available during a wildfire. The forest service also hopes the prescribed fire will help promote growth of new oak trees and vegetation for wildlife.

Some 16,000 acres of the 640,000-acre Cherokee National Forest are scheduled to be burned in 2006. Much of this burning will be done in March. Only 2,068 acres were scheduled to be burned in the Tellico Ranger District. Adjacent landowners and area residents are notified in advance. For more information, call the Tellico Ranger District office at 253-2520.