Prescribed fires on the Gettysburg battlefield will take place April 13 and 14
Gettysburg, Pa. (April 10, 2017) – Conditions are right for the National Park Service to conduct a prescribed fire on 215 acres between Devils Den and South Confederate Avenue this Friday and Saturday at Gettysburg National Military Park. If conditions remain unchanged the prescribed fire on half of the burn unit will be April 13 with the second half on April 14.
Temporary Closures: On Friday, South Confederate Avenue and Sickles Avenue will be closed beginning at 6 a.m. On Saturday, only South Confederate Avenue will be closed. Devils Den, including all pedestrian access, will be closed Friday. All pedestrian and horse trails within the burn unit, as well as the hiking trails on Big Round Top will be closed both days. The picnic area along South Confederate Avenue will also be closed both days.
The public may view the prescribed fire from the Snyder farm house at West Confederate Avenue and Emmitsburg Road (parking along West Confederate Avenue), or from Little Round Top. No stopping of vehicles along Emmitsburg Road for viewing the fire will be permitted.
Additional roads, trails and areas may need to close temporarily if smoke conditions reduce visibility to a level that would require a temporary closure of limited areas to ensure public and firefighter safety.
More information including maps of the burn unit is available at https://www.nps.gov/gett/learn/news/prescribed-fires.htm. Up-to-date information on this and any other closures and fire activity will be posted on the park's social media sites, using the hashtag, #GettysburgNPS