Making an impact: Hendersonville Times-News covered wildfires, parking, pedestrian safety

HENDERSONVILLE - Looking back on 2023, there were many news stories in the Times-News and BlueRidgeNow.com that made an impact in the community.

The ones that drew the most reader interest were a series of stories about a massive wildfire in November in Edneyville during the drought, the change to paid parking downtown and two pedestrian deaths on two major four-lane roads in Hendersonville.

The Poplar Drive Fire

A series of stories read by the most readers this year were the those about the wildfire that started on Nov. 3 on Bald Top Mountain in Edneyville. Over a 16-day period, firefighters from across the state helped get the fire fully contained on Nov. 19.

After a two-week investigation by the North Carolina Forest Service, the cause of the wildfire was determined to be a debris burn that occurred on private property on Oct. 26, eight days before the wildfire began. Duff Swan, 51, of Maitland, Florida, was cited and charged with North Carolina General Statute 14-140.1, according to a news release.

Firefighters worked around the clock the contain the blaze, which began as a brush fire that was 20 acres in size on Nov. 3. Overnight, it grew to 200 acres, and at its peak, it ended up being 434 acres. Two homes were lost due to structural damage in the first week of the fire, and two firefighters were treated for minor injuries.

All throughout the fire, the Times-News brought readers daily updates on the fire's spread, areas that needed to be evacuated and how it was impacting residents near the fire.

More: Is there anything good about wildfires? Experts talk about benefits of WNC wildfires

While it was a devastating moment of the year, it was also a moment that saw members of the community come together to help in any way they could. Food and beverage donations came in by the tons, and volunteers were there day and night to organize and distribute the donations to the firefighters and other volunteers.

On the third day of the fire, Henderson County Rescue Squad's Tony Linville had this to say: "We were over capacity for what could be kept at the fire station. Now the fellowship hall (at Fruitland Baptist Church) is full."

Paid parking comes to downtown

On March 3, downtown Hendersonville visitors had to start paying to park with parking kiosks and a multi-million dollar parking garage installed by the city.

Two days earlier, city and county leaders who had been been working on the parking changes, held a news announcement on the top floor of the new parking garage. The change has been a hot topic on social media all year, and many, including store owners, are still against it.

Many of the side parking lots have been bought out by private companies. A reader emailed me a day after the Hendersonville Christmas Parade saying he and his wife got back to his car to find a parking ticket for $56.95 after he unknowingly parked in one of those private lots.

I was working on a story about the Visitors Center in early December and took a stroll down both sides of Main Street. I saw several cars with parking tickets. Longtime Main Street business owner Barbara Hughes of Narnia Studios told me it happens a lot and said that locals should be charged an annual fee for parking, which would solve a lot of the complaints.

More: Parking is bringing in revenue, but merchants say it's still affecting their business

In a past Times-News article, Hughes talked about when there was paid parking downtown several decades ago.

"Why did they take it out? It had a negative impact on business. I guess nobody remembers that. So the 'proof is in the pudding'. Lower sales for us will lead to lower sales tax collection for the city. They will have to figure out which is more vital. I will have to trust they will," she said.

City of Hendersonville spokesperson Allison Justus told the Times-News on Jan. 5 that no parking changes have been discussed in any recent council meetings.

"It had been previously indicated they would review the system after it had been in operation for a full year with a full year of data," she said.

Pedestrian deaths on two four-lane highways

Two pedestrians were killed on two major four-lane highways in the city in 2023.

The first death happened in September when a homeless woman was struck and killed on U.S. 64 just before North Henderson High School.

More: After Ponder's death on U.S. 64 at night, some citizens say more lights are needed

Doris "Ann" Ponder, 72, died after being hit by a vehicle while she was attempting to cross the four-lane highway about a mile from North Henderson High School on the night of Sept. 26. After a Times-News story was published, several people reached out, saying more lighting is needed on the busy road.

Britney Berger works at the Citgo station near where Ponder's incident happened. She said it brought back painful memories.

"I lost my baby sister on Highway 64 a few years ago right past the Citgo going to North," she told the Times-News on Sept. 27. "Why doesn’t the county or someone put up street lights? I work at the Citgo and see a lot of people walking from all the apartment complexes. It’s very dark in the mornings and very dark at night. Why no street lights on that section of 64?"

David Uchiyama, the spokesperson for the mountain region of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, said the NCDOT recently awarded a contract for pedestrian improvements at five intersections along U.S. 64.

"N.C. Department of Transportation officials investigate every fatality on state-maintained roads. The information obtained in each report is analyzed and helps transportation experts plan, design and construct projects that help people walk, bike and drive to their destinations," he told the Times-News on Oct. 3.

"The safety-improvement project includes construction of a crosswalk, pedestrian signals and ADA-compliant curb ramps at the intersection of U.S. 64 and Fruitland Road. It also includes a new sidewalk heading North on Fruitland Road to connect existing infrastructure," he said.

Uchiyama said pedestrian improvements will also be installed at the following locations as part of the contract: U.S. 64 East at Howard Gap Road, U.S. 64 West at Howard Gap Road, Thompson Street at Freeman Street and also Orr’s Camp Road at Carolina Avenue.

The other pedestrian death happened a little more than a month later on the morning of Oct. 30 on Spartanburg Highway. The N.C. Highway Patrol reported that Dustin Byrnside, 44, of Flat Rock, was struck and killed by a truck driven by Jason Ryan Blackwell, 46, of East Flat Rock. Byrnside was hit while walking on the shoulder of the road, the Highway Patrol said.

More: Flat Rock pedestrian struck and killed on Oct. 30 to be laid to rest

In addition to the two pedestrians, a cyclist was also hit and killed by a vehicle on Oct. 1. The Highway Patrol reported that Kevin Allison of Flat Rock was struck and killed while riding his bike on Crest Road in Hendersonville that night and that the driver of the vehicle never stopped.

The city did take action, implementing a new pedestrian safety plan at its Dec. 7 meeting. The plan involved more than 18 months of work and public input that identified problematic streets and ideas for projects.

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: Edneyville fire, parking fees, pedestrian deaths drew most readers