WNC blazes under control; Asheville's fall driest ever 

From Staff Reports

About 80,000 acres in Western North Carolina have been burned by wildfires that have forced residents to evacuate their homes and businesses to close to shut down temporarily.

Firefighters from all 50 states were brought in to work a 21-day shift to keep blazes from destroying structures or injuring people.

This is Asheville’s driest fall ever, with no measurable rain falling in November at the Asheville Regional Airport. Just 0.54 inches fell in the Asheville area in October, according to Trisha Palmer, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greer, S.C.

About 5 inches could fall along the southern slopes of the Appalacians  late Nov. 28 through Nov. 30, Palmer noted.

Meanwhile, arson is suspected in most of the Western North Carolina wildfires, according to the U.S. Forest Service and incident command teams.

As of Nov. 26, more than 21 wildfires west of Asheville were mostly contained and firefighters continued to patrol fire lines, checking for any re-ignition sites. At about 11 other wildfires in various parts of the region, firefighters have continued to increase containment and fire growth has remained limited.

Many evacuations and road closures were lifted around Thanksgiving Day as firefighters have gotten fires under control. Some roads remained closed and evactuation notices remained in effect as the N.C. Forest Service reported 97 new fire starts between Nov. 19-25 that burned 206 acres on state- and private-owned land.

Most fires were under control on Nov. 26, with a handful continuing to grow. More resources were being called in to increase containment and stop potential fire growth, according to fire officials.

More than 2,500 firefighters and support staff walked along control lines at about a dozen wildfires on Nov. 26, checking for hot spots or fallen leaves that could spark new flames.

Firefighters working the 7,171-acre Party Rock fire near Lake Lure were on fire lines looking for hot spots and leaf fall. The fire was considered 85 percent contained Nov. 27 — a 15 percent increase since two days earlier.