Current Conditions
51°F - SUNNY
A brush fire swept across Upper Bear Island in the Susquehanna River Thursday, damaging about two acres of the popular camping spot and home of several bald eagles.
The fire started about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, on the 65-acre island south of Holtwood Dam and the Norman Wood Bridge in Martic Township.
About 60 firefighters from Rawlinsville Fire Company fought the blaze, as well as firefighters from Columbia, Quarryville, Pequea and Conestoga, along with Delta and Airville companies out of York County and members of the state Bureau of Forestry.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined, Kevin Boyer, Rawlinsville assistant chief, said Friday. The cause is being investigated by Bureau of Forestry.
The island is a popular stop for boaters and picnickers.
Firefighters had to be ferried to the island in boats, lugging hoses and portable pumps with them, to fight the fire.
"Most areas, there is no beach or shore that you can run up onto; it's rock and you have to set up these gas-powered pumps," Rawlinsville Fire Department Chief Carl Strickler told reporters Thursday.
Several firefighters were evaluated for heat exhaustion, and one suffered a minor ankle injury.
Bald eagles often inhabit the island, but it's not known whether any were present during the fire.June is a hot month for Upper Bear Island.
Last year on June 22, a fire scorched three acres. Firefighters used five boats to ferry hoses and pumps to the scene. The cause is believed to have been a campfire left burning from the night before.
Fire also burned four acres of the island in June 1993.
E-mail: lalexander@lnpnews.com
