Fires are in the Virginia news today (Start film) - - - an early-morning blaze yesterday destroyed a farm house in the Falling Spring Valley section of Alleghany County. (Show film)
The one-story house was located about 15 miles north of Covington. The home was owned by Odie Campbell. However, no one was home at the time. Campbell is recuperating from an operation at a Charlottesville hospital.
The house - and everything in it - was consumed by the roaring blaze. Losses were estimated at about 10 thousand dollars. Firemen from Covington and Hot Springs were hampered in their efforts to save the house, by a lack of water. No cause for the fire has yet been given. WSLS-TV Camera Correspondent Ernie Miller of Covington got these films.
Despite some heavy rainfall recently, forests and wooded areas in Southwest Virginia are again being threatened by forest fires. (Start film)
Eight such fires were reported this weekend in a four-county area around Roanoke.
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The most troublesome blaze was in Roanoke County near Poages Mill yesterday. The fire was located off Route 690. This fire started on a new section of Parkway being built to link up with Route 220. Parkway rangers, district foresters, firemen and volunteers had plenty of trouble combatting the fire because of the steep, rough and rocky terrain. Chief Forest Warden A. B. Hoback says 5 or 6 acres of land was burned in the fire. The dry, extremely warm and windy weather the past several days has dried out forests. District Forester Arthur Jolly again urges fishermen, picknickers and others using the woodlands to be very careful in not letting forest fires get a foot-hold.
