560-acre Jim Thorpe wildfire near fully contained

Firefighters have almost fully contained a wildfire that broke out over the weekend on Bear Mountain on the outskirts of Jim Thorpe in Carbon County.

The fire had reached about 560 acres and was 95% contained as of Thursday morning, according to Wesley Robinson, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

Robinson said there are a lot of dried leaves, dead trees, and other vegetation to fuel the fire. About 150 people have been involved in fighting the fire or supporting the effort.

No one has been injured and no properties have been damaged, although the blaze and smoke could be seen from downtown Jim Thorpe, a tourism draw in the spring.

The fire is on the outskirts of town, about a quarter mile from any buildings.

The blaze was first reported at 4:30 p.m. Saturday near the Lehigh River at the base of Bear Mountain. The cause is under investigation.

Firefighters, with aerial support, continued to focus on the fire’s eastern boundary, Robinson said.

The Delaware & Lehigh Trail (D&L) had initially been closed from mile markers 102 to 107 as a precaution. A portion of the trail, which runs from the Delaware to the Lehigh Rivers, connects downtown Jim Thorpe to the Weissport section through a pedestrian bridge over the Lehigh River.

The Carbon County Emergency Management Agency issued a statement Monday night saying it could take days to fully contain the fire in Jim Thorpe and Franklin Township.

The statement said firefighters are using back burns, a technique to burn already downed or dead wood in the fire’s path to starve it of fuel.

“Homeowners around the area are prone to seeing smoke and flames,” the statement said, “but please be ensured that there are crews who are currently working the operations.”

Most of the seemingly random fires popping up are those being ignited and controlled by firefighters as part of the back burning.