NC forest fire halfway contained; parkway stretch reopens
A section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in western North Carolina has reopened to traffic as firefighters have made progress controlling a fire in the Pisgah National Forest, authorities said on Saturday.
The Barnett Branch fire covers 370 acres but is now 50% contained, the U.S. Forest Service’s Pisgah Ranger District said in a news release.
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The parkway had been closed earlier in the week from U.S. Highway 276 to the Pisgah Inn. Portions of the Yellow Gap Road and some trails remain closed. Trails were expected to stay closed for a few more days due to the fire and its resulting hazards, the release said.
Thirty U.S. Forest Service firefighters were assigned to work the wildfire on Saturday, the ranger district said. The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
The fire’s scope grew compared to Friday because firefighters performed activities designed to remove fuels between containment lines and the fire’s edge to control the intensity of the blaze better.
The Pisgah Inn was not in imminent danger and no evacuations have been ordered.
(WATCH BELOW: Wildfire burns hundreds of acres in Pilot Mountain State Park)
