The call came shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Teenage ATV riders reported a fire off West Sunset Road in East Penn Township.Immediately, the men who would end up fighting the flames for over 30 hours knew it was going to be a worst-case scenario."This was the fire everyone was afraid of," said Cory Smith, East Penn Township fire chief. "It's easily the biggest I have seen in my 20 years with East Penn. When we heard the location, we were just hoping it would be between West Sunset Road and Lizard Creek. Getting to the scene and seeing what we were facing, I knew it wasn't going to be a good situation."Wesley Keller of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said investigators are still determining a cause for the blaze, which ravaged more than 800 acres along the Blue Mountain in Carbon and Lehigh counties.Almost instantly, smoke could be seen 15-20 miles away and flames rose to 40 feet.The area was under a red flag warning last Saturday from the National Weather Service, meaning there was an extremely high risk of brush fires due to high winds and dry conditions."There is so much fuel and brush back there, we just knew we couldn't stop it once it got started," Smith said.Fuel for a brush fire can be combustibles that feed a fire, such as grass, leaves, ground litter, plants, shrubs and trees."Just in the time we were coming up with a plan, the fire erupted into something so tremendous that we just said let it go. Putting someone in front of it would have been a dangerous situation," Smith said.Unlike a fire along a residential street, access to the wildfire was extremely limited.The road to reach the flames was 10 feet wide. One firetruck went in, but it had to turn around and come out before another could enter."You couldn't pass on either side," Smith said. 'The biggest thing of the whole fire was access. We would see the flames go from 40 feet high to 3 or 4 feet, but then it would hit a bunch of brush and shoot back to 20 or 30 feet high. With the wind and the fuel load, the conditions were just perfect for this fire."Plan of attackWhen DCNR officials and neighboring fire departments arrived on the scene, crews started to put together a plan of attack.Only the plan was too difficult to implement."We tried to cut lines and breaks into the fire, but there was just too much rock back there to get a decent break," Smith said.From that point on, the fire had the upper hand."Our thinking shifted to a defensive mode and we started protecting structures," Smith said."The goal was to just let the fire burn until we can access it and start to knock it down. The homes and structures along West Sunset Road and Blue Mountain Drive to the west became our main concern. About that time, we started to get air support, and that helped tremendously."DCNR used four fixed-wing air tankers and one helicopter to help fight the flames with water and fire retardant.The helicopter is stationed in Penn Forest Township, while the aircraft left from Hazleton."We had a lot of times when guys were on the radio yelling, 'I need water and I need it now,'" Smith said. "Thank goodness those planes were there and we got the help we needed in time."Echoing Smith's statements on the conditions, DCNR Fire Operations Chief Mike Kern said the weather played a key role in keeping the fire alive."We could have used rain a whole lot earlier," he said. "The wind just kept blowing, and of course that changes the whole complexion of what you're trying to do because it can switch directions in a heartbeat."Scariest momentPicking just one scary moment in a two-day fire is nearly impossible, especially when lives are at stake."For me, when the fire started getting close to structures, that is the scariest moment," Smith said."With a situation like this, safety is the main concern, not just for the firefighters but also the public. You'd hate to see someone lose their home over a wildfire."At points, the fire was getting 200 yards plus ahead of where firefighters were already stationed.As the scene started to calm on Sunday, wind shifted and parts of East Penn Township were again under siege.Scanner activity picked up as crews were summoned to defend houses along Sporting Club Road and Route 895."Oh man, that was my thought when that happened on Sunday," Smith said."Now I had to pull all my units that were protecting structures on Blue Mountain to protect as it headed to 895. Our biggest intentions were to stop it on Sports Club Road."Again, the plan of attack was diverted."It had jumped the road by the time our equipment was in place," Smith said. "Fortunately, we were able to protect behind the houses on 895."Side effectsSmith said keeping his guys fresh was a challenge over a multiday fire.When one unit came out for food, water and rehabilitation, another entered the fray."At times, we needed everyone on the fire," he said. "It was stressful for everyone. It's not just firefighters, but fire police as well. They are out standing on the asphalt all day and they need food and water as well."Volunteers, including Lehighton's Lory Frey, at the East Penn Social Hall helped organize food and beverages that people had donated."It was wonderful how this community came together to support our firefighters," Frey said."We encourage everyone to take this opportunity to donate to your local department."One week removed from the blaze, fire companies are still picking up the pieces. Equipment was damaged and overall supplies need to be replenished."Stuff breaks," Smith said. "We had a radiator pop. You have to fix that and you need to replenish the fuel you used to run the apparatus."People can help not just with donations, but also by volunteering their time during the year with different fundraisers. It helps ensure that when something like this happens, the money is there."