Murphy – Low humidity and breezy winds compelled the National Weather Service to issue fire weather alerts in western North Carolina starting Feb. 19, with red flag warnings issued Thursday.
Red flag warnings are issued when warm temperatures, low humidity and strong winds combine for prime fire conditions. “During these times, extreme caution is urged by all residents because a simple spark can cause a major wildfire,” according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Grape Creek Fire Department & Rescue Station 16 was equally concerned.
“Very High Fire Danger Today! Please refrain from burning as it could easily get out today,” the department advised on its Facebook page.
The warnings were prescient in Cherokee County, where firefighters from Murphy, Cherokee County, the N.C. Forestry and U.S. Forest Service responded to two simultaneous blazes on Joe Brown Highway on Thursday.
State and local authorities activated the Wildland Fire Response Plan as a result of Thursday’s conditions. The activation included strong admonitions against outdoor burning, saying it is dangerous, highly discouraged and should be extinguished.
It wasn’t long into Thursday when two roadside fires on Joe Brown Highway forced fire crews to divide their forces.
The Hanging Dog Bridge fire burned about an acre on the edge of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians tribal land and threatened one home. The Whitener Bend fire burned about 4 acres on a roadside slope around the corner from the convenience site.
The two fires burned simultaneously, forcing firefighters to split their forces between the larger Whitener Bend fire with the Hanging Dog Bridge fire, which though smaller came within just yards of a house. The blaze was mostly fed by last fall’s fallen leaves, churning on the ground looking for more solid fuels to feed the flames.
Firefighters used rakes and other hand tools to create small fire breaks, while others used high-powered blowers to push the flames back onto themselves and stop, or at least slow, the spread. Fire engines were deployed where necessary to put water on the blazes, including the house threatened by the Hanging Dog Bridge fire.
The house was surrounded by mowed grass in what firefighters call a “defensible space,” allowing them to focus on the fire’s edge and protect the structure.
Firefighters on the scene said the blazes were likely caused by cigarettes tossed carelessly out a car window. An official cause has not been released.
Two other fires elsewhere in Cherokee County included a 1/10-acre roadside fire caused by a transformer malfunction off of N.C. 60 on April 19; and a quarter-acre fire near Murphy Health & Rehabilitation off N.C. 141 in Peachtree on Sunday.