Press release:
Cold Mountain Fire 95% Contained
Location
The Cold Mountain Fire is located in the Shining Rock Wilderness Area of the Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, approximately 20 miles south of Waynesville, North Carolina, in the headwaters of Crawford Creek.
Estimated Acreage
Approximately 132 acres
Containment
95% contained
Fire Cause
The Cold Mountain Fire was reported on Friday afternoon, February 17, 2017.The human-caused fire is under investigation.
Resources on the Fire
Approximately 25 firefighters including 1 crew and personnel from the Pisgah Ranger District will continue to patrol and monitor the fire.
Current Situation
Aided by rainfall today firefighters have been successful in their suppression efforts to the point that the Cold Mountain Fire is now 95% contained. No active fire along the perimeter has been observed since Saturday and fire crews have been concentrating on locating and extinguishing any final hot spots that may have existed for the past few days. The incident management team that has been assigned to the fire will be released at the end of the shift today (Wednesday, February 22). The fire will continue to be monitored by personnel of the Pisgah Ranger District along with one fire crew.
Closures
An emergency closure order is in effect on national forest system lands in the following area: The Art Loeb Trail (#146) north of Shining Rock Gap and the Cold Mountain Trail (#141). See map below.
Cooperators
The Cold Mountain Fire is now managed solely by the US Forest Service.
General Fire Information
Safety of the public and firefighters is always the number one priority when dealing with wildfires. Firefighters are using direct and indirect tactics under a full suppression objective. Minimum impact suppression tactics will be used to protect all wilderness and resource values.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.