An estimated 50 firefighters from agencies spanning at least six statewide counties are battling a brush fire on Blue Mountain in Lehigh Township, Northampton County.
Lehigh Township Fire Chief Richard Hildebrand said the brush fire began around 2 p.m. Saturday on Blue Mountain Drive -- east of Little Gap, Carbon County. By midnight, firefighters initially had thought the blaze was under control and planned to rest and return to the scene Sunday morning.
But by 2 a.m. Sunday, crews were called back to the mountain as the fire began to spread once again, Hildebrand said.
"We stick the hose in one spot and the fire comes up in two or three others," he said.
No injuries have been reported nor evacuations.
Fire trucks can be seen lining the entrance to Blue Mountain Ski Resort where they have been gaining access to the fire via a road to a communications tower, according to a report by WFMZ-69 NEWS.
Hildebrand said the blaze was started by campers who left a small fire burning and didn't properly extinguish it. The majority of the flames are underground -- about two feet deep in some locations. Flames also are between boulders and rocks.
"It's a very tough fire," Hildebrand said.
Firefighters from Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, Monroe, Berks and Montgomery fire companies, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Bureau of Forestry and National Park Service workers, remain at the scene.
Hildebrand expected it would take into the evening to get the blaze under control. The fire currently is spanning two to four acres, he said.
This is the second brush fire within two months on Blue Mountain. A more massive blaze scorched an estimated 800 acres on April 19.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@express-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann.