ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — One of the two wildfires in Anderson County is 100% contained, according to the Tennessee Division of Forestry.
The contained fire is near the Morgan County Line. The Tennessee Division of Forestry Wildfire Viewer said the fire is 475.21 acres in size.
Captain Shain Vowell said the fire jumped boundaries in a video posted to Facebook Sunday night.
"It was a little larger, I think it was around 400 acres over there," Vowell said. "But they pretty much have it contained and they're not very concerned with it either at this point."
Another fire in Rocky Top is burning between Andy's Ridge and Waldren's Ridge, visible from Lake City Middle School. It's now 210 acres in size and is 85% contained as of Tuesday night, according to the Tennessee Division of Forestry.
Anderson County Emergency Management Agency Director Brice Kidwell said most of the smoke people are now seeing is from forestry crews back-burning to reduce the fire load.
"Forestry is back on scene this morning," Kidwell said Tuesday morning. "They are working to reinforce and clean-up the lines they've dug over the last few days."
No injuries have been reported and no structures are in danger, Anderson County officials said. The fire was first reported around 6:05 p.m. on Saturday and the cause of the fire remains unknown.
"The fire started on Andes Ridge side near Fraterville, and it has come over the ridge to the Walden Ridge side. Adjacent to Rocky Top," Ray Butler from TN Division of Forestry, said. "Local fire departments came mainly to perform structure protection. The Tennessee Division of Forestry was called in, to put in containment lines."
Local firefighters were released from the scene, leaving the effort in the hands of forestry crews. Kidwell said local agencies would still keep a close eye on the fire. He said people in the area may see smoke lingering for the next few days. On Monday morning, a smoky haze had settled in Knoxville.
Daniel Adams, a Clinton Fire Department Lieutenant, has been in contact with the agencies fighting the fire. He said they expect the fire to last over several days and are working to contain it and to protect structures.
"It's a very large mountain range that they're fighting that on. Forestry has been working all night. The fire on the ridge is steep terrain, so they can't attack it as they'd like. So, right now they're focusing on protecting the structures on the bottom," Adams said.
There are a few challenges for first responders to overcome, but Butler said they're determined to defy the odds.
"Dealing with very dry conditions. Also, the terrain is very hard to deal with. So it's taking time for our crews to pick out good pathways to go down with the bulldozers," Butler said. "We have hand crews putting in hand lines with tools such as leaf blowers and leaf rakes."
Fire season started last month and fires aren't uncommon right now. The area is currently facing a drought and leaves on the ground create a perfect condition for brush fires, according to Adams.
"Anything as simple as a cigarette being flicked out your window or disregarding some ashes—stuff we wouldn't be as concerned about right now—we are tremendously concerned about because of the dryness," Adams said.
Officials have seen a lot of traffic near the fire and are asking the public to use caution and avoid the area, so crews can work on containing the fire without delays, according to Adams.
Residents can download the Anderson County E-911 app to receive updates from the scene about the fire. The app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
"We're hoping that sometime today, all of it will be contained and we won't have anything to worry about," Vowell said.
This story is ongoing and will be updated as more information becomes available.