DuPont State Recreational Forest fire spreads to 36 acres, forces some trail closures
A brush fire in DuPont State Recreational Forest has spread to 36 acres but remains 60% contained, according to Kirsten MacDonald, information and education supervisor for the forest on the Henderson-Transylvania county border.
Currently, only "5-10 acres" are inside the borders of DuPont Forest, which is managed by the North Carolina Forest Service, while the rest of the fire remains on private property, MacDonald said. Firefighters continue to fight the fire on both private and public property.
The 10,000-acre forest is well-known for its many scenic waterfalls, lakes and trails. Forest officials have closed the gravel portion of Cascade Lake Road and all trails north of Cascade Lake Road and Staton Road, including Cascade Loop and Sheep Mountain Road, until further notice.
Track the latest WNC fires and red flag warnings at https://data.citizen-times.com/fires/.
No structures have been damaged as a result of the fire and no structures are currently in danger, MacDonald said. No evacuation orders have been issued.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, she said.
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Currently, a multi-agency team responding to the fire includes members of the local fire department, members from the DuPont Forest staff, a Transylvania County forest ranger and assistant forest ranger and a hand crew from North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Macdonald said.
The fire is one of many that have sprouted up in Western North Carolina over the past few days.
A wildfire in Jackson County has spread to 125 acres, as of Nov. 6. In Cherokee County, the Collett Ridge fire has now spread to over 4.5 square miles. The Poplar Drive fire in Henderson County has burned two houses down, spreading to 431 acres.
On Nov. 5, a burning ban was put in place across 14 Western North Carolina counties as severe drought conditions continue. Rain is not expected in the area until Nov. 10.
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.
While moderate-to-severe drought conditions persist in WNC, Buncombe and other counties hit similar levels in 2022 and 2019, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
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. They also led to 14 deaths in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, after the Chimney Tops Fire that started in Great Smoky Mountains National Park raged outside the park's borders.
Buncombe County 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,” a Nov. 6 news release read.
Residents can learn more about safety plans at readync.gov.
Open burning banned: 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: DuPont State Recreational Forest wildfire spreads to 36 acres
