How to help the men who lost their home to a fire on Friday

On Friday evening, the Brevard Road house of Parker Sloan, Grey Nelson and Adam Bowers burned to the ground. No one was injured, but high winds made it difficult for firefighters to extinguish the flames and the house was destroyed. The Asheville community has responded with various events to help their neighbors. To help, read on:

(Parker Sloan sorts through the remnants of his bedroom. Photos by Bill Rhodes)

UPDATE: AFD’s Capt. Jeffrey Bowen fatally injured in Biltmore Ave. fire

UPDATE: Asheville Fire Department’s Capt. Jeffrey Bowen, a 13-year veteran of the department, died today, July 28, after battling a blaze at 445 Biltmore Ave. Another firefighter, Jay Bettencourt, was taken to Augusta, Ga., for treatment. According to information released at a 5 p.m. press conference, the building was older and not required to have a sprinkler system. Bettencourt and Bowen were working as a team in the incident, and six other firefighters were also injured.


Photo by Katy Brooks

Forest Service plans prescribed burn at Bent Creek

The USDA Forest Service is planning a prescribed burn in June or July on about 42 acres of national forest land on the Bent Creek Experimental Forest. The study will help agency scientists understand how the timing of prescribed burning affects hardwood regeneration — primarily for oaks — along with herbaceous vegetation, fuel loading and breeding bird communities. The areas to be burned include three forest compartments near the Lake Powhatan Recreation Area, adjacent to Forest Service Roads 479 and 664.

Photo by Jonathan Welch

Xpress Files: Richmond Hill Inn bankruptcy documents

Federal bankruptcy court documents filed by the owner of the Richmond Hill Inn show that the loss of the inn’s historic mansion to fire on March 20 was valued at $7 million, including $25,000 in oriental rugs, $55,000 in food and wine and an unknown amount to replace the irreplaceable — a portrait of Gabrielle Pearson, the wife of the congressman and ambassador who built the original Victorian mansion in 1889.

Hot legal battling preceded Richmond Hill blaze; arson suspected

Five months before a devastating March 19 fire destroyed the historic Richmond Hill Inn, legal battles had been heating up between the current and former owners of the property. Investigators believe the blaze was intentionally set. A landmark lost: A devastating early morning fire March 19 destroyed the Richmond Hill Inn’s historic main building. Investigators […]