Update: Edneyville brush fire grows to 200 acres, 10% containment

Update: 3 p.m. Nov. 4: The Edneyville brush fire has been estimated to cover 200 acres, with less than 10% containment as of Saturday afternoon, Henderson County Chief Communications Officer Mike Morgan said in a news release sent at 2:50 p.m.

Edneyville Fire Department, with support from the fire departments of Henderson, Buncombe, Transylvania and Polk counties, and the North Carolina Forest Service partners were working to control the brush fire in the East Poplar Drive and Kyles Creek Road areas.

The crews continue to construct fire lines and protect exposed structures, Morgan said.

“At this time no residences have been destroyed, no injuries have been reported,” he said.

Two structures were reported to have sustained minimal damage.

At 6 p.m., officials will provide a briefing at Fruitland Baptist Church, at 150 College St. in Hendersonville. Property owners from the affected areas are invited to attend.

The public is advised to avoid the areas of Kyles Creek Road, East Poplar Drive, Green Mountain Road, Rhodes Road and neighborhoods connected to those roads to allow fire crews to operate safely.

The news release states that there is no immediate need for donations for the firefighters.

Read more: Buncombe County issues burn ban amid windy and dry conditions

Read more: Wildfire in Nantahala National Forest spreads: 677 acres, no containment

Update: 1:15 p.m. Nov. 4: Edneyville Fire & Rescue and regional fire departments continue to battle the spreading brush fire in Edneyville in Henderson County.

On the morning of Nov. 4, Edneyville Fire & Rescue reported that additional fire crews from surrounding areas were on the scene to assist with structure protection.

A local media outlet reported that evacuations have been issued at the upper end of Kyles Creek Road.

The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement at 11:24 a.m. on Nov. 4 warning of “enhanced danger of wildfires this afternoon and evening" for counties including Buncombe, Henderson, Avery, Madison, Yancey, Mitchell, Haywood and Transylvania.

The special weather alert states: “A dry air mass will remain in place over the region today. Weather conditions are favorable for wildfire potential to spread quickly in the North Carolina mountains and the northern Upstate of South Carolina. Dry vegetation, leaf litter, warm temperatures, and critical relative humidity levels from 15 to 25 percent are expected this afternoon. Any fires that develop may spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. Please refer to your local burn permitting authorities on whether you can burn. If you do burn, use extreme caution since fires can quickly get out of hand under these conditions.”

On Nov. 4, the temperature high was forecast to be between 65-70 degrees, with an evening low between 35-40 degrees for Edneyville, according to NWS meteorologist Justin Lane.

At about 1 p.m., Lane said it was not “especially windy” in the Edneyville area, with winds measuring at about 7 mph and expected to weaken through the afternoon to less than 5 mph.

The dry air and vegetation and severe drought conditions are contributing factors to the wildfire spread, he said.

On Saturday, the relative humidity for Henderson County was 24%, which Lane said is “very low” for the area. The humidity is expected to drop closer to 20% later in the afternoon.

“The vegetation is already very dry because we’re basically in a severe drought across most of the Southern Mountains and North Carolina, so the lower humidity and dry air mass causes any kind of leaf litter, smaller pieces of vegetation, grass and things like that to dry out really quickly,” Lane said. “The long-term drought conditions cause larger things like logs and tree trunks to dry out substantially, as well.”

On Nov. 5, the temperature high is expected to remain the same, between 65-70 degrees. The wind is predicted to increase to 10 to 15 mph, he said, with gusts up to possibly 20 mph.

Rain is not in the weekend forecast; there is a 30% chance of precipitation forecast for Thursday through Friday morning.

Update: 9:20 a.m. Nov. 4: Edneyville Fire & Rescue reported on social media that conditions for the brush fire have escalated, with winds picking up early Saturday morning.

Five structures in the Cairn Court and Morrill Drive area were reported to be threatened.

Edneyville and Fletcher fire departments have responded and have requested additional trucks from Fairview and Skyland to assist with structure protection.

The public is advised to avoid the area as crews work.

Original story: A brush fire that had grown to 25 acres and likely will continue spreading on Nov. 3 began where a controlled burn was reported about a week ago, according to Edneyville Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Robert Griffin.

"It shows how dry it is," Griffin told the Times-News on Nov. 3.

"It's about 20 to 25 acres, and we're thinking it will end up being between 50 to 75 acres. It's burning about 10 to 12 inches deep in the ground. Crews will be on scene most of the night and will monitor this for several days," Griffin said at 7:40 p.m.

A structure was initially threatened, but Griffin said at 8:35 p.m. that it wasn't threatened anymore.

"The structure is OK. (The fire) did jump line again. It will probably wind up (being) over 100 acres," he said.

Fletcher Fire Department and Dana Fire Department are also assisting, along with the North Carolina Forest Service and the Henderson County Fire Marshal's Office, Griffin said.

"Valley Hill Fire Department is standing by at our station," he said.

Edneyville is currently under moderate drought conditions, according to drought.gov. The Edneyville area isn't expecting any precipitation until Nov. 9, when there will be a 15% chance of rain, according to weather.gov. The best chance of rain comes on Nov. 13, when the rain chance increases to 58%.

At approximately 5:25 p.m., Edneyville Fire & Rescue posted on its Facebook page that firefighters were on the scene of a large brush fire off of East Poplar Road and Green Mountain Road.

At first, it was reported the fire was about 8 acres, but less than an hour later, the fire department posted that the fire had grown to approximately 20 acres.

This was the post at 6:10 p.m.: "UPDATE: Fire is at about 20 acres with one structure threatened at this time. Only about 40 percent containment and expected to go to between 50 to 75 acres."

The fire department's initial post said the fire was moving into a thick wooded area. The post said the fire department requested a "dozer and helicopter," and another Facebook post on the Hendersonville, NC Facebook page posted that the helicopter with a big red tank attached was in the area.

Brian Merrell also posted on the Hendersonville, NC Facebook page that he first saw the smoke at 3 p.m.

"I can see from my front yard that it is much bigger than it was at 3 when I first saw it. On a possible good note, the helicopter that was dropping water has left, but it may be just to refuel," he posted at around 6:30 p.m.

Merrell took a photo that was shot from his yard near Justus Orchards, he said.

"The prevailing wind seems to be pushing it away from me so I'm not personally concerned," Merrell told the Times-News.

William Lance told the Times-News that he drove up near the area around 6:50 p.m.

"Just drove up there. Looks like the fire is spreading up the mountain," he said.

The fire department posted the smoke would be seen from many areas in Henderson County, especially at the end of Kyles Creek, Rhodes Road and below North Bearwallow Mountain Road.

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: Update: Edneyville brush fire grows to 200 acres, 10% containment