Collett Ridge fire grows by nearly 1,000 acres, now covers over 6 square miles
The Collett Ridge wildfire grew nearly 1,000 acres in a day, spreading farther into Nantahala National Forest as firefighters continue to battle flames in the area, according to a U.S. Forest Service news release. The fire is at 0% containment and now covers over 6.1 square miles.
The fire — located four miles south of Andrews, North Carolina — started on Oct. 23 from a lightning strike.
Meanwhile, the Forest Service announced Nov. 8 that campfires are prohibited in Pisgah and Nantahala national forests until further notice except for in developed campground sites with campground hosts.
As of Nov. 8, the Collett Ridge Fire has damaged no structures and none are threatened. A total of 120 personnel were reported to be on the scene, including two 20-person hand crews, 11 engines, one water tender, two helicopters, one air attack platform and overhead personnel.
In the past week, four fires have burned over 7.3 square miles in Western North Carolina as parts of the region experience severe drought conditions. The closest fire to Asheville — the Poplar Drive Fire in Edneyville in Henderson County — has burned down two homes and injured two firefighters as the fire spread to 431 acres in the area.
In 2016, another active period of wildfires in the region led to 14 deaths in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, after the Chimney Tops Fire started in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The fires coincided with a period of severe drought. Currently, parts of 16 different WNC counties are under severe drought conditions.
On Nov. 7, U.S. Forest Service operations section chief Chad Cook gave an update on the Collett Ridge Fire through a Facebook video.
"At nighttime, we are getting some extreme burning conditions at higher elevations. We are not getting relative humidity recovery, as well as we are not getting lower temperatures. Conditions are just prime for the fire to spread at night," Cook said in the video.
More: Where are the wildfires in WNC? Check out this map.
Active forest fires in the region
The following fires are currently active in the WNC region:
Collett Ridge fire in Andrews: 3,918 acres, 0% containment
Poplar Drive fire in Henderson County: 431 acres, 15% containment.
Cascade Lake Road fire in DuPont State Recreational Forest: 36 acres, 60% containment.
East Fork fire in Jackson County: 310 acres, 50% containment.
Not much rain expected over the weekend
As for rain, WNC is not expected to see any until late Nov. 9 into Nov. 10, Outlaw said. Cherokee County — where the Collett Ridge fire is located — will likely see rainfall "totaling a little more than a quarter of an inch" through the weekend, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Doug Outlaw.
"Certainly, the rainfall expected is not expected to be a drought buster by any stretch of the imagination," Outlaw said.
Asheville will see a little less rainfall, with an expected possible 0.2 inch over the weekend, beginning Friday, Outlaw said.
However, the possibility for more rain is further away.
"After this chance of some low amounts of rain, the next possibility of any rain would be late next week," Outlaw said. "It's certainly going to be dry on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Just a small possibility of some rain on Thursday and Friday of next week."
More of WNC could see an expanded drought, Outlaw said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the severe drought covers a lot more area in Western North Carolina," he said.
Drought conditions have not yet reached 2016 levels, when extended drought conditions across WNC contributed to 34 wildfires that burned throughout November, eventually burning some 60,000 acres of forest.
On Nov. 6, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued Code Red and Code Orange air quality alerts for several WNC counties. Cherokee, Clay and Macon counties are currently under Code Red air quality alerts. Graham, Jackson, Swain and Transylvania counties are under a Code Orange air quality alert.
The N.C. Forest Service issued a ban on all open burning and canceled all burning permits for 14 counties in Western North Carolina, effective 5 p.m. Nov. 5 until further notice.
Counties currently under an open burn ban include Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain and Transylvania. The Buncombe County Fire Marshal’s Office has also issued a ban on open burning for Buncombe County, which began at 9 a.m. Nov. 5 and will be in effect until conditions improve.
On Nov. 6, Buncombe County declared a state of local emergency and banned all outdoor burning, except for using outdoor grills to prepare food. The state of emergency will persist until county officials lift it.
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.
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 Nov. 6 news release read.
Residents can learn more about safety plans at readync.gov.
More: Buncombe County declares state of local emergency, banning all burning amid fire risk
More: DuPont State Recreational Forest fire spreads to 36 acres, forces some trail closures
More: Open burning banned in 14 WNC counties as fires grow, 'severe' drought continues
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC wildfires now cover over 7.5 square miles, little rain expected
