ROANE COUNTY, Tenn. — Update (10/31): The Roane County Sheriff's Office arrested a man wanted for aggravated arson after a mountainside fire grew to 100 acres.
The fire was 100% contained as of Monday after crews worked from the weekend through Monday fighting it.
Chief Deputy Tim Hawn of the Roane County Sheriff's Office said the man suspected of starting the fire, Billy Wright, wasn't known to those who live near where the fires were started.
"For whatever reason he went to that area," said Hawn. "It's my understanding that no one out there really knew him. We were not able to locate him last night. We do have active warrants against him now."
Wright was arrested Monday night and booked into jail around 11 p.m., according to the Roane County Sheriff's Office.
"We don't know why he acted by the behavior that he had. We don't know how that come about. But it has been quiet out there in the area with the exception of a little bit of work being done to to finish up, putting the fires out and getting equipment put away. There's not been any sightings."
Nathan Waters, assistant district forester for the Tennessee Division of Forestry, said his crew was also called to help fight the fire.
"We got called yesterday," said Waters. "You know, we had some issues last night just because it was too dark. And there's a lot of steep rocky places up there, trying to get a line around it, they were trying to always try to minimize a fire as much as we can. So we don't let too much burn. You know, now they've sort of backed up and we've cleaned a road out that goes like completely around the fire."
Waters said although the fire is contained, crews will have to monitor the area to make sure it doesn't start back up again. He said if the region gets enough moisture, it would help, but with a hard frost coming this week, it could dry things out and keep the fire burning longer.
"If we have a lot of snags in an area, which that's just a dead tree or it might be a hollowed-out tree that's partially dead," said Waters. "If those get on fire, they can burn inside this what's called a chimney and it'll get windy, you know, blow out sparks out the top like a Roman candle. And that just scares everybody. But you know, what we do is we put our dozer lines in and we try to check along the edges. And that's why it's better to do it in daylight so they can actually look and make sure that they caught all the snags or anything did that might come across the line."
ORIGINAL STORY
Roane County crews are working to put out a 22-acre fire burning between Harriman and Oak Ridge.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture said the fire is now 60% contained.
The fire was reported in the Clacks Gap area on a wooded hillside near Edwards Road and Sugar Grove Valley Road.
According to the Roane County Sheriff's Office, the fire began around 7 p.m. Sunday at 221 Edwards Road after a man threatened to burn a house down. Deputies said the man set several fires in the woods behind some homes, prompting multiple fire departments and the Tennessee Forestry Division to respond.
Deputies identified the suspect as Billy Wright from Harriman, saying he is not in custody yet and is wanted for aggravated arson.
No structures have been damaged.
According to RCSO, a bulldozer operator was injured while fighting the fire after his equipment flipped over. Deputies said his injuries were not life-threatening and he was taken to Roane Medical Center for evaluation.
Currently, East Tennessee is currently under drought conditions -- raising the risk of uncontrolled fires spreading. Some cities, such as Gatlinburg, are currently restricting any outdoor burning and asking people to stay mindful of the fire risk.