Great Barrington Fire Update

The Chapter's AT Management Committee's Volunteer Coordinator, Cosmo Catalano, and the AT Management Chair, Russ Skelton, went to check on the Tom Leonard Shelter recently. Here is Cosmo's report. "It was a November day like we used to have: cold, windy, damp and cloudy. Russ and I made a minor repair to the Tom Leonard bear box, reviewed potential hazard trees at the site, then headed trail south to the fire area. We arrived at the edge of the burn and a fire line about a mile south of the shelter (42.16509, -73.31708). Since the local Incident Commander (IC) has asked people to stay away, we did not enter the burn area. As you can see from the photo, at least at this location, the fire only involved the ground cover; trees and larger shrubs are generally unaffected. We even noted some young beech tree's dead leaves were not even scorched, even though they were a foot above the ground. You may be able to see a white blaze on the small tree in the center of the photo. This location likely does not represent all conditions elsewhere in the fire area or the Trail. Media video shot from the other side of the mountain clearly shows whole trees involved. We did see a couple of spots at the edge of the burn today where larger, previously downed trunks/branches were still smoldering. There are also likely still places where the fire is underground in roots and deeper duff, this can flare up unexpectedly and restart a small blaze. The fire department has asked that people still avoid the area, and residents on Home Rd are reportedly not happy to see folks driving by to 'take a look'. From the fire maps we've received from APPA, the fire area is quite close to Brush Hill Rd/Home Rd, and it looks like most of the Trail to the overlook areas above the road was involved. This might improve some of the limited views for a few seasons, and we should see a nice crop of blueberries this summer. The NPS-dispatched engine crew from Delaware Water Gap has reported they have cleared the Trail of fallen trees and it appears to be in good shape. Since we have no pressing need to get the Trail open for large numbers of hikers, let's wait until we get clearance to enter the burn area, rather than jumping in to see what needs fixing (if anything)."