SAM Magazine—Palmerton, Pa., Nov. 7, 2024—A brush fire has burned several hundred acres near Blue Mountain Resort, Pa., this week. The resort has supported fire crews in efforts to suppress the Gap Fire, also called the Blue Mountain fire.Courtesy of Blue Mountain

The fire, which is reportedly no longer advancing, is burning roughly 4 miles to the west of Blue Mountain Resort. It sparked Saturday in Leigh Township and grew rapidly over the course of several days, from 150 acres to more than 700 acres, according to Blue Mountain Resort director of marketing Ashley Seier.

The resort offered up its pumps and water retention ponds to fire crews to fill tankers, said Seier. The entrance to the resort’s Summit Lodge parking lot was also used as a staging area for extra equipment and crew vehicles.

“No structures have been damaged in the fire,” said Seier, who was happy to report that the resort and team were doing well. No injuries related to the fire have been reported so far.

“I'm also happy to share that at this point the fire is contained, and the crews are focusing on maintaining hot spots,” she said.

In a post to Instagram, Blue shared a photo of smoke from the fire visible from the bottom terminal of one of the resort’s lifts. “We want to acknowledge the brave firefighters working on the Blue Mountain fire,” said the post. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families as they work to put this fire out.

“With the dry weather, many counties have burn bans in effect,” the post added and encouraged folks to review fire safety and check with local municipalities regarding burn restrictions.

In a Nov. 6 fire update from the PA Bureau of Forestry shared to the Leigh Township Volunteer Fire Co. Facebook page, the incident management team described the fire suppression efforts as “in the mop-up phase,” with minimal fire activity. 

The fire is currently 577 acres and 58 percent contained. The cause is still under investigation.