By CHARLES THOMPSON

pennlive.com

HARRISBURG (TNS) — One full week after ignition, crews are still battling two large — for Pennsylvania — wildfires in the Michaux State Forest in Cumberland County.

But, by several barometers, they are winning the war. First, all voluntary evacuation notices issued for residents in portions of Southampton Township, the site of the larger, Thompson Hollow fire, are lifted.

The footprints of the fires have stopped expanding, even as solid fire containment lines around the perimeters are being completed.

And the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is starting to scale back its on-scene firefighting force.

The latest DCNR numbers on the two fires, as of Wednesday evening: The Thompson Hollow fire in Southampton Township, with 2,248 acres involved, is 80% contained.

The Hammonds Rocks fire in Dickinson Township, 470 acres involved, is 95% contained.

In firefighting terms, containment means crews are confident they have established big enough fire breaks — areas devoid of fresh fuel — that the fires won’t spread across the existing perimeters.

That means the crews’ approach is now more one of maintenance: patrolling the perimeters and monitoring for any hot spots near the control lines.

That is an in-person job, aided by a state-owned drone equipped with infrared cameras, “There’s not a lot burning now,” said Josh Thompson, DCNR’s incident spokesman. “There are isolated pockets of heat scattered throughout.”

The biggest hazards, Thompson said, include things like a dead tree that might fall, roll down a slope and kick up embers in areas where there’s still combustible matter.

“They don’t want to walk away from it just yet,” Thompson explained.

So far, no personal property damage or physical injuries have been reported throughout the incidents.

Thompson said once the fires are fully extinguished, DCNR will turn its attention to efforts to control erosion from the burned-out areas.

That is accomplished through “water bars” designed to steer drainage into areas with stable vegetation, and dropping native seed to promote new ground cover.

The Thompson Hollow Fire, by itself one of the largest wildfires that Pennsylvania has seen in years, ignited at about 5 p.m. on April 23.

The Hammonds Rocks Fire, several miles to the east, was reported around 2 p.m. on April 24. Later that day, smoke could be spotted from a distance, as seen in the photos below.

The causes of both fires remain under investigation.

All told, Michaux State Forest spans about 85,500 acres across Cumberland, Franklin, and Adams counties and includes parts of the Appalachian Trail.

The forest also encompasses Pine Grove Furnace

State Park.