CHERRY GROVE – The Monongahela National Forest “Woodside Fire” is at 85% containment, the USDA Forest Service announced Friday morning.

In a statement released Friday morning, the Forest Service announced containment of the Woodside Fire in Pendleton County had increased from 75% on Nov. 10 to 85% by Friday, Nov. 14. Approximately 385 acres have been consumed by this fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

“Firefighters were able to fully resume work on the Woodside Fire after winter weather conditions passed,” The Forest Service said in its statement on Friday. “The combination of containment line construction and several inches of snowfall over the fire increased containment to 85%. Most active burning has ceased, though crews continue to patrol and monitor the area for isolated heat pockets within the fire perimeter.”

The Woodside Fire was reported on Nov. 5 after a private landowner detected smoke south of Circleville, the Forest Service said. The Pendleton County OEM stated on Nov. 5 that multiple local volunteer fire departments, along with some from Virginia, were on scene.

“Multiple fire crews at a wildfire in Southwest Pendleton County, near Cherry Grove,” the Pendleton County OEM stated on social media on Nov. 5. “Battling extreme steep mountain terrain. Mostly on Monongahela National Forest. Numerous VFDs from Pendleton, Pocahontas and Highland Counties in (Virginia) and National Forest Fire crews are battling the fire in extreme winds on a Red Flag Day.”

The Woodside Fire is located in the area of Vance Run, near Big Mountain and off WV State Route 28, close to the border with Highland County, Virginia. On Nov. 9, the Forest Service stated that the Vance Run Trail, near the Laurel Fork River, is closed “for the public’s health and safety.”