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Photos by Randy Foster/editor@cherokeescout.com The smoke from the Collett Ridge Fire is visible from a forestry tower. Andrews is located at the right in this image. -
Flames from the Collett Ridge Fire have been made worse due to a severe drought across the region. -
Specialists monitor fire conditions at Grace Baptist Church in Andrews, where the U.S. Forest Service and N.C. Forest Service have set up an incident command post. -
Provided by the U.S. Forest Service, shows the expanding blaze.
Updates –
...ELEVATED FIRE RISK THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO BREEZY CONDITIONS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...
Ongoing drought conditions, combined with breezy south- southwesterly winds and low relative humidity values, will lead to an elevated fire risk this afternoon for East Tennessee and southwest Virginia. Relative humidity values will drop into the low to mid 30s, and south-southwest winds will be sustained at 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. The highest winds are expected across the higher elevations of the mountains and Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. In North Carolina, relative humidity will drop close to 30 percent in many spots with the strongest winds being along the higher terrain by the late afternoon.
...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST WEDNESDAY NIGHT...
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has issued a Code Red Health Advisory for the southwest North Carolina area...IN EFFECT
UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A Code Red Air Quality Alert for Particulate matter means ground level Particulate matter concentrations within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards. Everyone may begin to experience health effects. Active children and adults, and people with a respiratory disease such as Asthma, avoid prolonged outdoor exertion. Everyone else, especially children, limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
Andrews – Firefighters are keeping close tabs on a pesky woods fire that has consumed more than 2,100 acres of woods 4 miles southeast of Andrews.
Much of the burned acreage was intentionally set by firefighters setting back-fires to protect neighborhoods nestled in thick woods and steep terrain.
Firefighters completed firing operations to the north of the Collett Ridge Fire along Rattlesnake Ridge to Rattlesnake Knob. A bulldozer line was completed from Shinbone Ridge to Long Branch and tied into the Rim Trail to the east of the fire near the county line between Cherokee and Macon counties.
An additional 20-person hand crew arrived to the incident and will provide support maintaining a hand-line to the north of the fire near communities. Firefighters will continue firing operations south of Lord’s Way. A bulldozer is working on a containment line to the west of the fire from Living Waters Drive to Snider Creek Road.
Compounding the problem is a drought developing throughout most of the state, with severe drought in western North Carolina. October was a dry month in the west, with 10 counties – including Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties – along with parts of four other western counties experiencing drought.
Dry, breezy conditions led to the N.C. Forest Service issuing a ban on all open burning and canceling all burning permits for Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain and Transylvania counties effective 5 p.m. Sunday until further notice.
Drought conditions continue, mostly sunny, temperatures in the high 60’s, low humidity, and low winds. Winds are expected out of the north moving south. These dry conditions are expected to increase fire activity across the fire area.
The fire has been named the Collett Ridge Fire and was sparked by a lightning strike Oct. 21 or 22. The fire was kept under 100 acres for much of the first week, but escalated from a combination of control fire lines and growth from the woodland fire.
As of Sunday, the fire had reached 2,158 acres with zero percent containment. On the bright side, no structures are threatened and there have been no injuries.
The forest services doubled the number of hand crew members from 20 to 40 and nearly doubling the number of fire engines, with nine assigned to the blaze as of Monday morning. There are two helicopters and one spotter plane assigned, as well. Total personnel involved to date is 110.
Support personnel are based in the fellowship hall at Grace Baptist Church off of George Walker Drive in Andrews.
An inversion layer, which causes the smoke to settle into the valley, is expected to lift by mid-day, improving visibility and air quality in the River Valley. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has issued a code Orange Health Advisory for southwest North Carolina, for fine particulates, due to smoke from ongoing wildfires. The general public is not likely to be affected. Active children and adults, and people with a respiratory disease such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
The Rim Trail is temporarily closed for approximately 7 miles from Big Stump to Shinbone. There are no road or area closures at this time; however, the public should avoid the area so fire crews and resources can work safely.
Helicopters have been dropping water on the main blaze while hand crews dig lines on the periphery between the blaze and Junaluska Road.
Fire Public Affairs Specialist Adrianne Rubiaco of the U.S. Forest Service said the terrain is too rugged to send hand crews into the main part of the blaze. The terrain is too rugged to rescue any firefighters who are injured, or for firefighters to escape should their position get overrun by fire.