Marshall McClung
Old Roughy is a mountain located along U.S. 129, some six miles north of Robbinsville across from the town of Santeetlah. It has an elevation of 2,900 feet and is correctly named as being rough due to its steep, rugged terrain and numerous rock outcroppings.
Old Roughy has also been known for the numerous forest fires it has endured over the years. It seemed to be a favorite spot for “fire bugs” – also known as arsonists.
My first encounter on Old Roughy occurred in the fall of 1967; the same year I started working with the U.S. Forest Service. Someone had set a fire beside the highway around midnight. Hoot Gibbs and I were among the first firefighters to arrive on the scene. We thought that we would be the first to reach the top of the mountain and start constructing a fire line down to the highway.
Much to our surprise, we met John McKeldrey – a ranger with the North Carolina Forest Service – about halfway up. He had already been to the top and had a fire line built almost halfway to the road. No one had got to the other side of the fire yet.
It took us until about 7 a.m., that morning to reach the highway with the fire line. In the meantime, other firefighters arrived and were working on the other side of the fire. I was immediately sent all the way around both sides of the fire, delivering breakfast meals. The fire was contained around 7 p.m., that night, after burning over 200 acres.
Over the years, there were several more fires set on Old Roughy.
My last encounter with this mountain was in the fall of 2016, when several large wildfires were set in Graham County. This time, 657 acres burned on Old Roughy and the nearby Maple Springs Fire burned almost 8,000 acres.
There were several smaller fires also. The larger were more serious, as several homes were threatened.
I stepped down from fighting wildfires in 2017 after doing so for 50 years. I was 73 at the time.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He is retired from the U.S. Forest Service and can be reached via email, mcclungs828@gmail.com.