Q&A: Sacred Fire Asheville fire keeper Patrick Hanaway

By day, Patrick Hanaway and his wife, Lisa Lichtig, are physicians at their integrative and functional medicine practice, Family to Family, in Weaverville. By night, the couple are stewards of a different type of healing practice: They are fire keepers with Sacred Fire Asheville, the local chapter of an international nonprofit. Since 2002, Hanaway says guests […]

Tuesday History: Catholic Hill School and the fire of 1917

Catholic Hill School — Asheville’s first school building constructed to serve the African-American community — was built in 1892. The three-story brick building held classes for students in the first through ninth grades. On Friday, Nov. 16, 1917, the school’s furnace malfunctioned. Fire consumed the building, and seven students perished in the flames. In 1923, Stephens-Lee […]

UPDATED The morning after: Photos from the Black Mountain/R­idgecrest Wildfire

Around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, a brush fire caused by unknown sources in the Ridgecrest area of Buncombe County erupted across the ridgeline. Spurred by gusty winds and dry conditions, the blaze soon spread across the mountains bordering Black Mountain, destroying several homes and forcing residents to flee to safety as state and federal Park Service officials, along with firefighters from across Western North Carolina, came in droves to battle the wildfire.

Major gas fire hits Sandhill Road area ***UPDATED 5:50 P.M.***

***UPDATED: As of 5:50 p.m. the fire is out.*** A major gas fire hit the Sandhill Road area, erupting around 4 p.m. today. Emergency response crews have blocked off the area, and reports from both news outlets and social media tell of a huge fireball and a shockwave that shook nearby buildings. Authorities are warning people to avoid the area. Photo by Jason Setran.