WASHINGTON – A strong smoky smell has been reported from Silver Spring in Montgomery County to Lorton in Fairfax County.
The smell is coming from two forest fires burning in Virginia, say Fairfax County fire officials. Wildfires are burning in George Washington and Shenandoah national parks.
Fire officials say they have received several phone calls since the odor of smoke started drifting northward Thursday morning.
WTOP also received a few Tweets wondering about the smell.
@WTOP in Leesburg entire area smells of smoke ~downtown, lansdowne, ashburn, west leesburg. wondering cause of smoke smell in the air..???
— Sherry Sherry Psychi (@SHERRYSHERRYDC) June 28, 2012
As a result of the fires, sections of trails in the Shenandoah National Park are closed due to the fire on Neighbor Mountain.
“The fires may have been burning for a while, but it’s the change in the wind direction has really caused people to smell the smoke here in the DC area,” says ABC 7’s Meteorologist Alex Liggitt.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow Kate and WTOP on Twitter.>
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
