Crews fighting fire with fire and winning

GULF SHORES, Ala. (WALA) - The Alabama Forestry Commission is fighting fire with fire.

"We’re getting a real good burn of the remaining area. Our goal now is to maintain everything inside the control line," said Jerry Smith with the Alabama Forestry Commission.

Officials said the blaze at Gulf State Park is about 90 percent contained, but the success didn’t come without a few failed attempts to put it out.

Crews have setup a perimeter around parts of the park, lighting controlled fires within those limits. However, some of the methods may seem a bit odd to the observer.

“We did try actually using firecrackers – like roman candles – because we know under certain conditions we go to fires started by roman candles,” said Smith.

Crews have tried a number of techniques to burn areas within their lines, trying to get the fire to die out.

Some of the most effective tools have been fire breaks and the Chinook helicopter that carries up to 2,000 gallons of water.

Many visitors have returned to the park’s campgrounds confident that firefighters have got it all under control.

“Well, we knew that the governor came down here yesterday, and on the news up there they said, 'Don’t cancel your plans, but call and ask,'" said one visitor. "So we did, and they said, 'Yeah, we’re open.'”

“They're not evacuating, and there's still people checking in, so I figured if they are still letting people check in, it can’t be that bad," said another visitor to the campgrounds.

Campground officials, however, say their numbers are still pretty weak for a holiday weekend. Only 136 sites out of 496 are in use.

Fire officials said the campgrounds, as well as neighboring communities, can expect some smoky days even after the fire is 100 percent extinguished.