With severe drought conditions and dead leaves all over, Western North Carolina residents are banned from burning debris until further notice.
“Several counties in Western North Carolina are currently in a severe drought, and we are seeing wildfire activity increase due to dry conditions. Because dry conditions are expected to continue this burn ban is necessary to reduce the risk of fires starting and spreading quickly. Our top priority is always to protect lives, property and forestland across the state,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler in a Nov. 5 statement.
With North Carolina, Macon County, Franklin and Highlands all implementing burning bans, no burning is allowed anywhere in the county. The N.C. Forest Service ban applies to all areas except within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling. The county and municipal bans cover that last 100 feet.
Under North Carolina law, the ban prohibits all open burning in the affected counties, regardless of whether a permit was previously issued. No new burn permits will be issued.
“Open burning includes burning leaves, branches or other plant material. In all cases, burning trash, lumber, tires, newspapers, plastics or other nonvegetative material is illegal,” the N.C. Forest Service stated.
Macon County Emergency Management Director Warren Cabe compared this drought to the one in 2016 that preceded a busy fire season. That November had the Tellico Fire that burned 13,880 acres, the Rock Mountain Fire that burned 7,903 acres in Macon County plus more in Georgia and Clay County, and the Camp Branch Fire that burned 3,422 acres. In total, there were 101 calls for service on fires or illegal burning from Oct. 23, 2016, to Nov. 30, 2016, according to information provided by Cabe.
Macon County Forest Ranger Ben Keener said on Nov. 2 that the county needs half an inch or more of rain before any burn ban should be lifted.
“We have low humidity days with wind, and we have all these fresh leaves falling on the ground,” Keener said. “People are cleaning, raking [the leaves] up and just not being good stewards while doing outdoor burning.”
Keener said the weather can be deceptive because mornings will be cold with frost on the ground, but then the wind can pick up and blow embers that aren’t fully extinguished.
“A lot of people are cleaning up their second home before going back to Florida [for the winter] and don’t fully extinguish or burn during times when the weather is too dry,” Keener said.
To fully extinguish a fire, Keener recommended to drown it with water and dirt. To tell if ashes or embers are still warm, Keener said you can hold the back of your hand close to them or see if gnats are flying over the ashes.
Keener said Nov. 6 that they had a case of someone dumping stove ashes that weren’t completely extinguished and those caused a small fire.
The fire season runs from October to May, Keener said. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, all of Macon County is under “Severe Drought,” or D2, as of Oct. 31.
These restrictions come as multiple fires have broken out across the region. In Cherokee and Graham counties, the Collett Ridge fire, started by lightning, was at 2,919 acres as of Tuesday. No structures or lives are threatened, but the drought has caused the fire to continue growing.
In Henderson County, a fire on Poplar Drive was 431 acres as of Tuesday, Nov. 7, with two buildings lost and 34 structures threatened. The origin of the fire is currently unknown.
A fire along E. Fork Road in Jackson County, not far from U.S. 441, spread to 105 acres but was 50% contained as of Tuesday afternoon. Keener projected that the fire would grow to 250-300 acres. That fire’s origin is currently unknown.
Keener said anyone with questions about the burn ban should go to ncforestservice.gov for more information.