BENTON (AP) - A wildfire in Polk County has caused the closure of a road and hiking trails in the Cherokee National Forest.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported the closures came Sunday as fire spread from a point near the Ocoee Ranger Station at Parksville Lake. The cause appeared to be wind blowing trees into a power line.
Forestry Service officials announced the closure of Forest Service Road 77 on Sunday after the blaze spread.
Division spokesman Terry McDonald said officials expect the fire to burn over about 1,600 acres before it is contained.
The fire was first reported Friday afternoon. McDonald said steep terrain and extremely dry conditions have made it tough to corral. He said it jumped fire lines three times in a day and a half.
A spokesman for the Cherokee National Forest says the wildfire is unusual for this time of the year.
Terry McDonald told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Monday that Forest Service Road 77 has been closed, as well as about 25 miles of trails in the Chilhowee Recreation Area. Officials expect the fire to burn over about 1,600 acres before it is contained.
McDonald says it's uncommon to have a fire that size during the summer. He says the normal fire season for the area is in the spring and fall.
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