On March 4th, the "Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act" was passed in the House of Representatives.
The bill, authored by Fifth District Representative John McGuire (R), directs the Secretary of the Interior to issue a right-of-way for an emergency exit on National Park Service land, allowing Wintergreen to construct a mountain exit route onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Virginia Senators Tim Kaine (D) and Mark Warner (D) have companion legislation prepared that create the law that to be signed by President Trump.
"For over 25 years the community of Wintergreen has been trying to obtain permission to construct a 400 ft gravel road which will allow our citizens a pathway to safety during certain wildfire scenarios," said Chief of Wintergreen Fire and Rescue Curtis Sheets. "We’re extremely encouraged by the passage of this act and we very much appreciate the work of Congressman McGuire, his staff, and all those who have participated along the way."
The community had given up hope that Wintergreen would formal and official permission to create the emergency exit on the mountain. In that there is only one road off the mountain which could not handle all the traffic in a wildfire, or could be blocked by the fire, last year the Wintergreen Property Owners Association started work on this building Wintergreen’s Laurel Springs Drive [map] to house equipment that could rapidly make a road to the National Park Services’ Blue Ridge Parkway.
In December Chief Sheets testified before the Federal Lands Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee in the United States Congress, asking for support for the legislation that would direct the National Park Service to approve an emergency egress route for the Wintergreen community onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Chief Sheet's five-minute testimony on December 12th is below:
