Flint Gap Fire Nearly Contained

A fire that has been burning for nearly a month in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now nearly contained. The Flint Gap Fire was listed as 58 acres on Friday. On Sunday, the national park service reported that the fire has now been 75% contained. Over the weekend , firefighters hiked into the fire and continued to safely secure the perimeter and put out hot spots. Starting today, the fire team will begin to transition to a Type 4 Incident Commander and will downsize to one ten-person crew to mop up the fire and watch for hot spots. The fire broke out in the southwestern part of the national park on August 26 and is believed to have been caused by a lightning strike.