Lake Woodruff Wildfire Grows to 2,800 Acres

The wildfire raging at the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge has reached a titanic 2,800 acres in size, the Refuge confirmed in an update on Thursday. This newest estimate is far larger than the initial 800-acre estimate released as recently as Tuesday evening. The first update confirming substantial size increase came on Wednesday in the early afternoon, when the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service confirmed the scope as being approximately 1,500 acres. That gave way to the 2,800-acre estimate released late Thursday morning. There is a bit of good news to go with the frightening growth of the fire. The blaze, known as the East Marsh Fire, is 80% contained as of Thursday up from 60% on Wednesday. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is currently estimating that the fire will be 100% contained by Monday. At that point, responders will have created plow lines around the entire perimeter of the fire, substantially reducing its chances of spreading beyond that area even if it isn't yet extinguished. "Due to successful burnout operations yesterday, there is no potential for active fire near public access trails or roads," the update said. "As temperatures rise throughout the day today, we expect small pockets of vegetation within the interior of the unit to burn out on their own, however all exterior containment lines are cleared of vegetation." Coinciding with the better conditions in public areas, the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge has been reopened as of Thursday. Several of the responding units have been released from the situation.