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Burn ban issued for Western NC until further notice as wildfire in Henderson County rages
The North Carolina Forest Service issued a burn ban for several counties in western North Carolina on Sunday.
According to the Forest Service, the ban includes Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham Henderson Jackson, Macon, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain and Transylvania counties starting at 5 p.m. Sunday.
The ban will be in place “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,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said. “Even though not all areas full under the burn ban, we do encourage extreme caution with any burning as conditions are dry in many conditions across the state.”
A wildfire has been burning in Henderson County since Saturday morning. As of Sunday evening, the fire has burned 431 acres of land in the Edneyville community, and only 5% of it is contained.
A burn ban prohibits all open burning in the affected counties, regardless of whether a permit was previously issued.
Forest Service authorities said they will continue to monitor conditions. Residents with questions are encouraged to contact their N.C. Forest Service county ranger or the fire marshal’s office in the affected counties.