Famed Cold Mountain is on fire in Western North Carolina. Smoke visible for 10 miles

The famed Cold Mountain featured in a popular novel and award-winning movie is on fire in Western North Carolina.

“Currently, the fire is at approximately 106 acres,” the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement late Thursday. “Crews have been performing structure protection activities and this work will continue through Friday.”

A brief video shared by the Forest Service showed flames visible at multiple spots along the mountain’s ridge. The fire was producing heavy smoke that could be seen 10 miles away along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Thirty firefighters are at work trying to contain the blaze, officials said.

“The wildfire is burning within the Shining Rock Wilderness. The U.S. Forest Service has implemented a forest closure order for the entire wilderness area which prohibits all recreational uses, including the use of 53 miles of trails,” they said.

National Park Service officials posted an alert around noon Thursday, noting the fire is not impacting the Blue Ridge Parkway, despite the presence of smoke in the area.

U.S. Forest Service officials did not say what might have caused the fire or where it started at the site. A time-lapse camera shows smoke began to appear between 8 and 9 a.m. The mountain, which has an elevation of 6,030 feet, is about 35 miles from Asheville, according to Romantic Asheville

Cold Mountain captured the imagination of people around the world when it was featured in Charles Frazier’s 1997 best-selling debut novel “Cold Mountain,” about “a wounded Confederate soldier’s harrowing journey through western North Carolina to reunite with his beloved,” according to The News & Observer.

“Millions more fans came to love these characters – Inman and Ada – in the 2003 award-winning film adaptation starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger,” the newspaper reported.

The movie wasn’t filmed in North Carolina, reports Romantic Asheville.

Shining Rock Wilderness Area encompasses more than 18,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, according to the Forest Service. It’s about 150 miles west of Charlotte.

Frazier began writing the novel while teaching at N. C. State University, The News & Observer reported.