French Creek State Park - Hopewell Fire (April 2012)

Hopewell Fire (April 2012)

On April 9, 2012, a forest fire started on the eastern side of Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site due to fallen tree onto a powerline during an unusually warm and dry spring. The fire burned approximately 750 acres, largely contained within the park. The forest fire caused the park's trails east of Rt. 345 and south of Shed Road to be closed. It also caused numerous evacuations around the eastern and southern edges of the park, though the fire never damaged any homes. This was the longest, largest, and most expensive fire operation in the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry's history. The fire was officially declared extinguished on April 23, 2012, two weeks after the fire began.

Addressing ecological concerns, the manager of a local preserve, Daniel Barringer, stated, "It is also important to remember that fire is a natural part of many forests. The foresters I talked to last night were very optimistic about regeneration in the park. Deer numbers are low enough that they won’t inhibit new growth of trees, and many species such as oak are dependent on wildfire to be able to outcompete more shade-tolerant but less fire-tolerant species such as beech and maple. When everything is put out and we’ve had some rain, be sure to check out the flush of growth likely to follow the fire."