Wildfires continue to burn, spread smoke across region

ESTILL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Estill County is under a state of emergency because of the wildfires in the area.

EMA officials confirmed to us they’re currently fighting two fires. One is being called the Pitts Fire and that began burning Monday. The other is being called the Chamberlain Fire because it started off of Chamberlain Branch in the Ravenna area.

Estill County EMA officials announced on Facebook Wednesday afternoon that the Pitts fire was 100% contained after burning 635 acres.

WKYT viewer Brandon Hizzle sent us video of the aftermath of the fire in the Pitts Rd. area. Another viewer also sent us drone footage of the wildfire:

Billows of smoke from the Chamberlain Fire can be seen for miles around coming off the nearby mountain. The fire continues to make its way down the mountain toward the homes in Ravenna, but we have not heard of any evacuation orders being given for residents in the area.

We spoke with one woman who told us emergency management officials told her Tuesday that the fire wouldn’t be able to reach the homes in Ravenna. However, she said she’s not sure she believes that and she’s concerned about how much more damage this fire will do.

“They’ve told us that it’s not possible for it to get over here, but they also said it wasn’t possible for it to jump the ridge and it did,” Kourtney Strange said.

Stange says she’s keeping her bags packed so that she’s ready if that call to evacuate comes in.

We’re working to get more information Wednesday morning from emergency management about how the fire is spreading.

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