Benezette elk viewing areas unaffected by weekend fires
A wildfire Saturday in Benezette it isn’t expected to impact tourism in the self-proclaimed “Elk Capital of Pennsylvania.”
In north central Pennsylvania, visitors regularly flock to Elk County to observe the animals, and fall is particularly popular for viewing the annual elk rut. The game commission maintains multiple elk viewing areas in the region, and nearly every bed-and-breakfast is named for elk in some way.
Commission spokesman Travis Lau said the fire, reported around 7:30 p.m. along Porcupine Road near the Dent’s Run Elk Viewing Area, was intense but relatively contained.
“Less than an acre was involved,” Lau said. “The underbrush burned, but the tree canopy remained intact.”
More than a half dozen fire departments along with the state Department of Natural Resources and Pennsylvania Game Commission teamed up to extinguish the blaze.
Lau said officials do not know the cause of the fire at this time.
Brandon Kowalski, chief for the Jay Township Volunteer Fire Company, said the terrain where the fire occurred created some challenges.
“We had to bring in some additional resources like our brush unit, one of the brush units from a neighboring department as well as Elkland Search & Rescue with their equipment to help battle and contain the blaze,” Kowalski said. “We had it under control in about three hours, and the fourth hour was mostly just mopping up.”
On Sunday, crews were called out again when a tree fell on a power line and sparked a small fire. Kowalski said the elk viewing areas were open and unaffected by the fires.
Chuck Brotherton owns Elk View Pizza & Country Gift Shop in the Winslow Hill area where the fire began.
“I live on the back of the one field where the fire happened,” Brotherton said. “It’s scary for people because of how dry things are up here, but I don’t think it will affect tourism for the businesses.”
Kowalski said people shouldn’t worry about the wildlife either.
“Animals sense danger and they’re long gone before anything happens,” he said. “Firefighters run toward the fire; all the animals run away from it.”
A live webcam of the elk in Benezette can be found at Pennsylvania Elk Live Webcam - HDOnTap.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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