Buncombe County declares state of local emergency, banning all burning amid fire risk

ASHEVILLE – Buncombe County declared a state of local emergency, banning all burning in county limits, according to a Nov. 6 news release. The declaration allows the county to coordinate and cooperate with other quasi-governmental organizations, and levels of government, about its emergency response.

Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chair Brownie Newman sanctioned the declaration, which also applies to the towns of Weaverville, Woodfin, Black Mountain, Montreat and Biltmore Forest. The state of emergency will persist until county officials lift it.

All outdoor burning is prohibited under the state of emergency, except for using outdoor grills to prepare food.

The declaration activates emergency management plans to "provide for cooperation and coordination of activities relating to emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery among agencies and officials of Buncombe County and with similar agencies and officials of other counties, with state and federal governments, with interstate organizations, and with other private and quasi-official organizations."

The declaration comes as wildfires spread in Western North Carolina without much promise of rainfall soon.

The Collett Ridge Fire, in the Cherokee County area of Nantahala National Forest, has grown to 2,158 acres, without any containment as of Nov. 6. In Graham and Henderson Counties, the Poplar Drive Fire has spread to 431 acres in the Edneyville community, with 5% containment. Over the weekend, a small brush fire broke out on Deaverview Road in West Asheville. That fire was ultimately contained without injury or major structural damage.

The North Carolina Forest Service issued a ban Nov. 5 on all open burning in 14 Western North Carolina Counties, including Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain and Transylvania.

Buncombe County Fire Marshal Kevin Tipton re-implemented a ban on open burning in the county Nov. 5. He had previously issued a burn ban that expired Oct. 31.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued Code Orange and Code Red air quality alerts that will last until midnight Nov. 6 in southwestern North Carolina. The state currently measures Buncombe County as Code Yellow.

Buncombe County will notify residents of an emergency. Residents can sign up for alerts by texting “BCAlert” to 99411 or going to buncombecounty.org/codered.

More: Open burning banned in 14 WNC counties as fires grow, 'severe' drought continues

More: WNC wildfire grows: Collett Ridge fire grows to over 3 square miles, no containment

Buncombe is encouraging residents to develop safety plans.

“Experts also recommend creating a ‘go kit’ with medications, important bank documents, social security cards, insurance policies, water, food, pet supplies, and more,” the news release read.

Residents can learn more about safety plans at readync.gov.

Mitchell Black covers Buncombe County and health care for the Citizen Times. Email him at mblack@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @MitchABlack. Please help support local journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Western NC fires spur Buncombe County to ban all burning temporarily