ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VA – (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Investigators have determined that the Blackberry Hill fire, which destroyed a shed, was caused by an open-air burn violation. The property owner a was subsequently issued three summonses.

What caused the Taylors Gap and Piney Mountain fires remains under investigation.

Between noon-8 pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, career and volunteer units from Albemarle County responded to 19 brush fires across the county. The most significant was the Taylors Gap fire, and approximately 250-acre fire that led to evacuations.

The Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle Emergency Communications Center (ECC) took hundreds of calls regarding the fires on March 20, 2024. Calls peaked during the 3 p.m. hour, with a total of 180 incoming telephone calls during that sixty-minute period, greater than 500% the typical call volume processed during that time of day.