Fire on Martin Hill

In 1930 high above Chaneysville on Martin Hill someone carelessly started a fire that destroyed 1150 acres on May 4th and 5th. (950 acres of timber and 200 acres of brush) The damage from this fire was set at $3000.00. This horrific fire covered 850 acres of state owned land and another 300 acres of private land. It was a very costly fire to put out, actual labor was set at $678.28, with $52.75 for transportation and another $42.37 for food. This information was reported to the Forestry Dept. by Fire Warden Harry E. Beck, who lived in Chaneysville. Evidentially 1930 was a very bad year for fires...in Bedford County there were 166 fires that burned a total of 15,370 acres.