“We’re suffering greatly,” says Kim Cason, who owns and operates The Esmeralda Inn & Restaurant in Chimney Rock with her husband, Don Cason. During Veterans Day weekend last year, the inn was fully booked when the Casons and their guests were among those ordered to evacuate as the Party Rock Fire threatened the area. And […]
Whether triggered by climate change or normal variability in cycles of temperature and drought, recent wildfires have been some of the most extensive in living memory. With tens of thousands of acres burned, scientists and fire management officials weigh in on the effects of the fires.
Press release from U.S. Forest Service and Southern Area Incident Management Team: Incident Resources: 17 crews, 6 helicopters, 1 fixed wing, 64 engines, 16 dozers, 4 water tenders, and 809 total personnel. Boteler Fire (Clay County): The fire continues to be active due to dry conditions and continually falling leaves. Light winds yesterday enabled crews […]
The unique combination of wildfires and high pollen counts in WNC this season may be contributing to the rise in allergies.
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.
N.C. Division of Forest Resources updates this map regularly to show drought and fire-danger levels across the state.
