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Stay up to date with WRAL’s Forest fire news and reporting coverage

Forest fire News and Reporting Coverage | WRAL

Forest fire Coverage

All fire departments urge the public to avoid burning outdoors until further notice. The combination of gusty winds (we're expected to feel winds up to 30 mph), dry conditions and low humidity, on top of severe drought conditions, can stir rapid fire growth. 

NC fire officials call for pause to outdoor burns due to dry conditions

All fire departments urge the public to avoid burning outdoors until further notice.

The aftermath of Hurricane Helene is still impacting parts of western North Carolina. Philip Jackson with the North Carolina Forest Service shared how the storms debris are further fueling the fire and posing a threat to the firefighters' accessibility.

<p>BUILT TO PERFORM. &gt;&gt; ONE OF THE 3 WILDFIRES BURNING IN POLK COUNTY HAS NOW SPREAD INTO HENDERSON COUNTY. IN TOTAL, NEARLY 6,000 ACRES HAVE BURNED SO FAR. POLK COUNTY JUST LAUNCHED AN INTERACTIVE MAP THAT SHOWS WHICH AREAS ARE UNDER EVACUATION AND WHO NEEDS TO BE ON STANDBY. DOZENS OF EVACUATION ORDERS ARE IN PLACE FIGHTING WILDFIRES LIKE THESE IS HARD ENOUGH. IT'S MADE EVEN TOUGHER BECAUSE OF HURRICANE HELENE. ALL THE DEBRIS LEFT BEHIND MAKES FUEL FOR THE FIRE AND KEEPS FIRE CREWS FROM GETTING WHERE THEY NEED TO GO EARLIER TODAY I SPOKE WITH THE NORTH CAROLINA FOREST SERVICE ABOUT HOW THEY'RE WORKING TO MEET THIS CHALLENGE. JOINING ME NOW IS PHILIP JACKSON WITH THE NORTH CAROLINA FOREST SERVICE. FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON WHAT IS AN EXTRAORDINARY DAY. &gt;&gt; THANK YOU, JEN. LET'S FIRST TALK ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE GOING OUT THERE. THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF RAIN BUT NOT REALLY SEEM LIKE A LOT TO MOVE THAT NEEDLE YESTERDAY. HOW ARE CONDITIONS OUT THERE RIGHT NOW? &gt;&gt; YES, THE RAIN WE GOT YESTERDAY WAS CERTAINLY BENEFICIAL IN THE SENSE THAT IT'S SLOW THE FIRE DOWN. BUT IT WAS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TO DO ANY TYPE OF EXTINGUISHING SUPPRESSION OR INCREASE CONTAINMENT. SO EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS. BUT ULTIMATELY, IT REALLY JUST WASN'T ENOUGH. SO FOLKS CAN CAN ESSENTIALLY PRETEND THAT WE NEVER GOT A THE FISH AND WILDFIRE IS 109 9 ACRES IN SIZE. 69% CONTAINED. SO WE HAD A MASON GOOD PROGRESS ON THAT FAR. BUT THE OTHER 2 CONTINUE TO BE A CHALLENGE. THE DEEP WOODS FIRE AND THE FIRE ARE EACH APPROACHING 3,000 ACRES INSIDE IN SIZE WITH 0% CONTAINMENT ON EITHER ONE OF THOSE. SO THE CURRENT FIRE, WHETHER IT'S A PRETTY DAY OUTSIDE, BUT USUALLY THOSE LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVELS AND NOT SIGNALING TO US AND THE DRY CONDITIONS THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST WEEK, FEW WEEKS. WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK AGAINST THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS AS WELL. YEAH, I WANT TO GIVE PEOPLE SOME CONTEXT ARE, YOU KNOW, WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND NO STRANGER NECESSARILY TOOK TO WILDFIRES. BUT THERE IS. &gt;&gt; AND EXTRAORDINARY FACTOR HERE. AND THAT IS HALLOWEEN. SO MANY MONTHS LATER. AND STILL, HELENE IS CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR FOLKS OUT IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. IN THIS CASE, IT'S HAMPERING THE FIREFIGHTING EFFORTS. CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN OUT THERE YET? HOW THIS IS IMPACTING THE FIREFIGHTING EFFORTS. &gt;&gt; SURE. SO WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS IN GENERAL POSE UNIQUE CHALLENGES JUST WITH THE STEEP TERRAIN THAT INCLUDE TOPOGRAPHY AND SO THAT IN ITSELF MAKES IT CHALLENGING TO GET HEAVY EQUIPMENT IN CERTAIN AREAS. BUT NOW THIS YEAR WE'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT DIFFERENT CHALLENGES WITH HURRICANE EMILY. WE'RE SEEING SIGNIFICANT IN EXCESS OF STORM DEBRIS STILL PILED UP ON THE SIDE OF MOUNTAINS AND IN SOME CASES ENTIRE MOUNTAIN SIDES HAVE BEEN BLOWN DOWN. SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF DAMAGE AND SO THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY THIS FRESH FUEL. THAT'S A NEW FUEL SOURCE FOR WILDFIRES TO GET A HOLD OF AND SPREAD QUICKLY. BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO THE ACCESSIBILITY CHALLENGE. THE SAME STORM, DEBRIS THAT THE WILDFIRES FEEDING OFF OF IS ALSO IN OUR WAY WHEN IT COMES TO HOW WE ATTACK THE FAR AND HOW WE SUPPRESS ITS OWN AND SEVERAL CASES. WE HAVE HAND CREWS THAT ARE THAT ARE DIGGING THROUGH THE DEBRIS WITH CHAIN SAWS, TRYING TO CUT A PATHWAY TO IT. THE ROADS THAT USED TO BE IN PLACE THAT WE WOULD PREVIOUSLY ACCESS IN YEARS PAST ARE NOW NO LONGER THERE. THEY'RE EITHER MAYBE THERE'D BEEN COVERED UP WITH THAT DEBRIS DAMAGED OR IN SOME CASES COMPLETELY COMPLETELY WASHED OUT. NOW, WE'VE ALSO GOT THE DRY CONDITIONS THAT YOU'VE GOT A STATEWIDE BURN BAN IN PLACE. BRING US UP TO SPEED ON WHERE THAT STANDS. &gt;&gt; SO THE STATEWIDE BURN BAN IS FOR ALL 100 COUNTIES ACROSS THE STATE AND IT'S GOING TO REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT AND IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT FOLKS IN HERE TO THAT BURNED AND RESPECTED BECAUSE NUMBER ONE, NOT PERCENT OF OUR FIRES HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA ARE CAUSED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY. NEARLY HALF OF THAT IS DUE TO BACK YOUR BURNS. THAT ESCAPE OR CARELESS DEBRIS BURNING. WELL, LISTEN, I KNOW YOU'VE YOU'VE GOT YOUR WORK CUT OUT FOR YOUR YOUR WHOLE TEAM. DOES. &gt;&gt; WISHING ALL THE BEST PLACE TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH US AS THIS DEVELOPS. THANKS AGAIN FOR JOINING US. AND EVEN UNITY.</p>

Fighting western NC wildfires made more difficult by Hurricane Helene

Fighting West NC wildfires made more difficult by Hurricane Helene

Valentina Aguilar, who owned a home near the fire, said she is concerned the fire will spark again.

Forest fire News and Reporting Coverage | WRAL

NC fire officials call for pause to outdoor burns due to dry conditions

Fighting western NC wildfires made more difficult by Hurricane Helene

'My neighbor called me and said your house is on fire': Record heat sparks brush fire in Johnston County