Wildfire updates this week
Fire activity is shaping access: North Carolina’s statewide burn ban nears its third week while crews respond to new blazes (wlos.com). Other recent incidents include an evacuation order issued then lifted for a Colorado wildfire northeast of Colorado Springs, a White County, Georgia fire at roughly 60 acres and 20% contained with two planes fighting it, and an Ocala National Forest blaze that burned more than 20 acres after a vehicle exhaust ignited dry grass (denverpost.com) (11alive.com) (wesh.com).
Wildfire crews spent the weekend chasing new fires across the Southeast as North Carolina kept a statewide burn ban in place and other states issued evacuations, aircraft drops and trail closures. (wlos.com) (denverpost.com) (11alive.com) (wesh.com) In North Carolina, the burn ban was nearing its third week on April 13 as dry conditions persisted. WLOS reported that crews and aircraft responded on Saturday, April 11, to four new fires totaling 63 acres in the National Forests in North Carolina, and two of those fires grew beyond 5 acres. (wlos.com) The largest North Carolina incidents in that report were the Jack Branch Fire near Cashiers at 17.6 acres and a fire near Lake Junaluska at 12.6 acres. WLOS also said firefighters were still working larger existing fires including the Cole Gap Fire and Cold Springs Fire. (wlos.com) The state ban has turned routine spring burning into an enforcement issue as crews try to keep small starts from becoming larger forest fires. The North Carolina Forest Service said preliminary reports for Thursday, April 9, showed 43 wildfires burning 51.5 acres on private and state-owned land. (ncagr.gov) In Colorado, a wildfire northeast of Colorado Springs briefly forced people out of a half-mile area around North Curtis and Garrett roads on Sunday, April 12. The Denver Post reported the evacuation order was later lifted and no structures were damaged. (denverpost.com) In White County, Georgia, county officials estimated the Buzzard Mountain fire at about 60 acres and 20 percent contained late Sunday, April 12. Two planes were assigned to the fire while White County Fire Services focused on protecting homes and other structures, according to 11Alive. (11alive.com) In Florida, the Ocala National Forest fire burned more than 20 acres off Paisley Road after a vehicle went off-trail, got stuck and its exhaust ignited dry grass. WESH reported crews from the Florida Forest Service and Lake County Fire Rescue fought the fire overnight and returned the next morning to watch for hot spots. (wesh.com) These fires are not the same incident or even the same terrain, but the pattern is similar: dry grass, brush and forest fuels are letting small ignitions spread fast enough to trigger aircraft use, road or trail limits and short-notice evacuations. The National Interagency Fire Center says its public maps track active fire activity nationwide as conditions shift day to day. (nifc.gov) For now, the clearest line across all four states is access. North Carolina still has a statewide burn ban in place, Colorado residents near the fire area were told first to leave and then allowed back, Georgia crews were defending structures from the air and ground, and Florida officials were monitoring for flare-ups after the flames were knocked down. (wlos.com) (denverpost.com) (11alive.com) (wesh.com)
