News

County lifts burn ban

By Lightning Reports, Published: March 2, 2025

Henderson County on Wednesday morning lifted the burn ban it had imposed because of drug conditions and high winds. Rainfall of around 1 inch helped make conditions less hazardous.

EARLIER COVERAGE:

Due to hazardous fire conditions an outdoor burning ban is in effect for Henderson County as of noon Sunday. The ban will remain in effect until conditions improve and the ban is cancelled. Further information can be obtained by contacting the fire marshal's office at 828-697-4728.

Unseasonably warm weather and low humidity have heightened fire risks, the U.S. Forest Service said in a news release announcing numerous wildfires. Careless debris burning remains the leading cause. Residents and visitors are urged to check burn bans and fire restrictions. Smoke may impact nearby communities and roadways, especially during morning and evening commutes. Drivers should use caution. Forest rangers were working to contain active wildfires in Polk County along U.S. 176 near Tryon and Saluda, the Nantahala National Forest in Cherokee County and in Pisgah National Forest in Haywood County.

Firefighters could get help Wednesday, when the National Weather Service forecast a 50 percent chance of rain but only a tenth of an inch of accumulation.

Downed trees, brush and other debris from Helene combined with dry air will enhance wildfire danger, the National Weather Service  said. During a meeting of the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 18, County Manager John Mitchell warned that the enormous piles of dead trees and brush pose a wildfire risk in forests and ridges.

“There’s a pressing need to review with the state of North Carolina the potential for wildfire associated with private property debris,” he said. “There are some parts of the county where you can see a tornado or straight-line winds have flattened entire mountainsides of timber.”

He had a meeting scheduled with the N.C. Forest Service to discuss what steps the county could take to minimize fire risk.

“When you have that much fuel laid out on the mountainside, that is dangerous,” he said. “We want to be ahead of that if we can.”

The North Carolina Forest Service issued a statement Monday warning residents that by state law wildfires are no-drone zones.

The law “prohibits any person, entity or state agency from using an unmanned aircraft system, i.e., drone, within either a horizontal distance of 3,000 feet or a vertical distance of 3,000 feet from any wildfire within the jurisdiction of the N.C. Forest Service,” according to the statement.
Exceptions to the law include a person operating an unmanned aircraft system with the consent of the official in charge of management of the wildfire.
People interested in flying a drone near a wildfire are asked to coordinate all drone activity with the forest service’s on-scene representative to ensure the drone does not interfere with or disrupt N.C. Forest Service air operations.

Firefighting aircraft that respond to wildfires fly low in support of ground personnel. Drones pose a serious threat to pilot and public safety. A drone that disrupts air operations also puts firefighters, residents and property at risk of loss to wildfire.