Fire departments assisting in the effort included George Hildebran, South Mountain, Enola, Oak Hill, Triple Community, Brendletown, West End, and Glen Alpine Fire Departments, as well as the N.C. Forest Service BRIDGE crews.
Fire departments assisting in the effort included George Hildebran, South Mountain, Enola, Oak Hill, Triple Community, Brendletown, West End, and Glen Alpine Fire Departments, as well as the N.C. Forest Service BRIDGE crews.
The 60-acre woods blaze that scorched Burkemont Mountain late last week was 100% contained by Friday morning, but Burke County isn’t out of the woods for fires just yet.
Despite some locally heavy rainfall over the weekend, conditions are still dry and residents are urged to exercise caution.
“You’ve always got to be careful with fire,” said Burke County Fire Marshal Mike Willis. “We’ve had a little bit of rain, but it’s not significant.”
The Burke Emergency Communications Center received the initial fire call at 1:15 a.m. Friday, July 5. Salem Fire Department and the N.C. Forest Service responded and were assisted by numerous departments from across the county.
The fire eventually spread to 60 acres. The flames got within 300 feet of the Hidden Hills Venue on Burkemont Mountain, but firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to structures.
Willis said protecting homes was the priority for the team who battled the fire.
“No damage to any structures, so that’s about the extent of it,” Willis said. “We were fortunate there wasn’t any structure damage. That was the only thing we were worried about. Woods can burn, that’s not a big deal. Just protecting the houses is the main thing.”
No cause for the fire has been released, but there were numerous fireworks displays in the area on July 4.
Fire departments assisting in the effort included George Hildebran, South Mountain, Enola, Oak Hill, Triple Community, Brendletown, West End, and Glen Alpine Fire Departments, as well as the N.C. Forest Service BRIDGE crews.
The U.S. Drought Monitor’s most recent map, updated last Wednesday, July 3, listed Burke as Abnormally Dry but not currently in a drought condition.
But Corey Davis, assistant climatologist for the State Climate Office of North Carolina, said that status may change soon because several counties surrounding Burke have been classified as being in Moderate Drought (MD).
Marty Queen is the senior reporter for The Paper. He may be reached at 828-445-8595 or marty@thepaper.media.
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