Structural and Wildland Fires

Just before noon on September 19th, park headquarters received a call from a park neighbor stating there was smoke coming from the area of the historic West House in the park's Malvern Hill unit. Rangers responded with the park’s brush truck ; also responding was Henrico County Fire and EMS. The responding units found a grass fire adjacent to a park Bobcat loader and the West House barn. Initial attack began on the grass fire and adjacent crops but soon the fire spread into the pole barn, fully engulfing the structure. A unified command was setup between the park and Henrico County to fight the fire with various tanker and brush trucks. The barn, Bobcat T200 loader and two Bobcat implements were totally destroyed. Damage is estimated at $60,000. The non-historic barn was set to be demolished and removed from the site in the near future. There were no injuries.  Approximately a half acre of soy beans and a half acre of cotton farmed through an agriculture lease also burned. There was no fire damage to the historic West House. There were no employees at the site at the start of the fire. The Bobcat loader had been used that morning on a park trail and was parked by the barn for the lunch period. It is believed that the engine compartment of the loader ignited cured dry grass in the area. Weather conditions have been hot and dry for the past month. Both the park and County of Henrico are investigating the incident.