The National Park Service Incident Command for the fire at Martha’s Falls, has now labeled the fire as officially contained.

The fire consumed over 300 acres involving both park and private lands.  Further work will determine an exact acreage.

The Martha’s Falls area will is posted as closed until further notice. Visitors are not allowed in the burned area for some time, as smoldering fires , hazardous trees and hot coals will remain a hazard. Firefighters will be in the park for at least the remainder of the week. The fire is no longer a threat to homes. Firefighters expect favorable weather, without heavy wind, for the remainder of this week although the forecast has no rain.

The park and the community thanks all those who responded, especially the local volunteer firefighters who are always serving their communities and were. The park thanks all the visitors and public for their patience with road closures and delays.

Of special note, drones are illegal in the park, particularly in emergency events. Air operations (the air attack, helicopters, and the tanker drops) had to be cancelled at one point during the fire due to a drone in the area. The drone can cause aircraft to go down. It is not worth the lives of the crews and value of the aircraft for someone’s YouTube video. This puts the ground crews and park neighbor’s homes at further risk to fire.

We expect some smoke in the area through the week. People should drive with their headlights on, using caution and driving slowly on Alabama Highway 35. Smoke may be crossing the road. Occasionally fire vehicles will still be patrolling Highway 35.

For more information, call Larry Beane at 256 845-9605 extension 205 or 256 504-4841.