State burn bans in 30 Western North Carolina counties to expire
With the latest rain on Nov. 21 and with wildfires in the area being contained, a statewide burn ban has been canceled, according to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
The statewide burn ban will be rescinded at 5 p.m. Nov. 22, according to an email from N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steven Troxler.
"Due to recent precipitation and decreased fire danger, I have rescinded the restriction on open burning for the counties of Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey effective at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023," Troxler said in a news statement just before 3 p.m. Nov. 22.
But counties have their own jurisdiction over their own burn bans. Henderson and Transylvania counties both said they are adhering to the state burn ban and will rescind their bans at 5 p.m. Nov. 22.
Buncombe County's burn ban is remaining in effect, according to Fire Marshal Kevin Tipton.
More: Is there anything good about wildfires? Experts talk about benefits of WNC wildfires
Most of the region is still under extreme drought conditions, and despite a steady rainfall on Nov. 21 for all of Western North Carolina, the drought conditions are likely not to change that much, according to Chris Horne of the National Weather Service.
"We will re-evaluate how this affects soil moisture and how it routes the rivers in the next day or two," he said. "On Tuesday (Nov. 28) is when we get back in touch with the drought folks. The drought monitor gets released every Thursday. It certainly won't make it worse. It's going to, in my experience, maintain the deficit."
Horne said the Hendersonville area ended up getting more rain than any other part of the Western North Carolina mountains.
More: 'Extreme drought' conditions spread to 4 more WNC counties, even after recent rainfall
"The storm total precipitation was pretty uniform across the region. The Asheville Regional Airport had a storm total of .78. It was a little more around greater Hendersonville, around an inch to an inch and a quarter," he said.
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Burn bans in Henderson Buncombe counties canceled after rain
