Wildfires are spreading as the threat for more continues
In order for a Red Flag Warning (Fire Weather Warning) to be issued, at least two of the following conditions have to be possible.
This includes low relative humidity, strong winds, change in winds during active fire suppression, or dry lightning (uncommon on the east coast). Dry lightning occurs when rain evaporates before reaching the ground, but lightning still occurs. Think about it as lightning with no rain.
The larger fires in Polk County, NC, are the Black Cove fire and the Deep Woods fire. These two fires are just north of Saluda and have both burned nearly 6,000 acres combined. The Black Cove fire has spread into eastern portions of Henderson County, NC. Both fires are zero percent contained. The fires are very close to each other, and that fire area is being called the Black Cove Complex fire. In northern Polk County, there is a smaller fire called the Fish Hook fire, which has burned roughly 200 acres and is 69% contained.
Just south of those fires is the Table Rock Complex fire in Pickens County, SC. The Table Rock Complex fire actually flared up more on Tuesday night because of a wind shift from a passing cold front. It has grown over 3,200 acres and has now crossed into Transylvania County in North Carolina. That county was severely hit by Helene 6 months ago. The Table Rock Complex fire is zero percent contained. As the fires continue to spread, evacuation orders are being issued.
The challenges firefighters are facing are the continued fire weather conditions, below-average precipitation, and dead/downed fuels such as trees post-Helene. According to the N.C. Forest Service, firefighters will start a fire line and reach impassible points due to storm debris and landslides.
Dry air and windy days through the end of the work week will keep wildfire danger around. For wildfires to start, we need dry vegetation, dry air, and stronger winds. The spark to start the fire can come from something as simple as a cigarette butt or a lawnmower.
Once the fire starts, stronger winds spread the fire to other dry areas.
Wildfire danger will decrease slightly this weekend as relative humidity will increase, adding more moisture to the atmosphere. This will not only help keep more fires from forming but will also help bring relief to some of the already fire-ravaged areas.
A burn ban remains in effect for North and South Carolina.
If you are going to grill food outdoors, make sure you are paying close attention to the open flames. Also, discard of cigarettes correctly. Do not just throw them on the ground or into the grass. This includes not throwing cigarettes out of your vehicle window.
Avoid parking your vehicle in the grass as well. The exhaust can heat the ground and cause a fire to begin.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Erin: Coastal flooding at high tides forecast in Carolinas, Virginia
(The Center Square) – High tide peak storm surges from Hurricane Erin are forecast from 1 to 3 feet between South Carolina and Virginia, and 2 to 4 feet on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Erin at 8 a.m. Wednesday was Category 2 at 100 mph maximum sustained winds and moving 13 mph to the north-northwest, having started to make the turn away from the mainland as expected. The National Hurricane Center, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the storm's center was 645 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, and 900 miles west-southwest of Bermuda. Veteran meteorologists have marveled at the size of the storm. Hurricane force winds (74 mph or greater) extend outward 90 miles from the center, and tropical storm force winds (39 mph or greater) extend 265 miles from the center. Rain for the Carolina coast is just 1 to 2 inches Wednesday and into Thursday, with damage coming more from storm surge than rain or wind. The next high tides on the Outer Banks are 6:18 p.m. Wednesday, and Thursday at 6:45 a.m. and 7:10 p.m. Erin has already sent Atlantic Ocean water over dunes and N.C. 12, the famed 148-mile roadway linking peninsulas and islands of the Outer Banks. Mandatory evacuations have been issued for Ocracoke Island in Hyde County and Hatteras Island in Dare County. Each county has declared an emergency. Storm surge warnings were in effect from Cape Lookout to Duck; a tropical storm warning was in effect from Beaufort Inlet to the Virginia border inclusive of the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds; and a tropical storm watch was in effect from the North Carolina-Virginia border to Chincoteague, Va. The Wednesday evening high tide for coastal South Carolina, including Charleston, and southern North Carolina is being closely watched for flooding. Early Thursday evening is the expected time of coastal flooding from the southern Delmarva Peninsula and southern Chesapeake Bay down to eastern North Carolina. The storm's projected path through the weekend skirts parallel to moving more away from the Atlantic Seaboard. Thursday's pass is by the Carolinas and Virginia, and Friday the storm will be moving by Maine. Coastal rescues from rip currents in North Carolina, according to published reports, have numbered between 75 and 100 over Monday and Tuesday. As often happens with hurricanes, water began to run over N.C. 12 on Tuesday. The highway begins at U.S. 70 at the community of Sea Level and runs to a point just north of Corolla and south of the Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve. Two ferries, Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island and Cedar Island to Ocracoke Island, are part of the route. The storm's landfall miss of the state is particularly welcome in light of Hurricane Helene. Recovery from that storm is in its 47th week. Helene killed 107 in the state, 236 across seven states in the South, and caused an estimated $60 billion in damage to North Carolina.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gradual clearing Thursday after a damp, cool midweek
Happy Hump Day! It's a mild, cloud, and damp start to the day with isolated showers and localized downpours continuing to work in from west to east. Make sure to have the umbrella on standby for the morning drive, if not the cozy rain jacket. Temperatures are in the 50s/60s this morning with brisk south breezes. Take it easy on those wet roadways, especially from central Vermont to the Upper Valley. Highs will only climb through the 60s and close to 70 this afternoon with continued cloudy skies and wet weather. A few more showers are likely by the evening drive home before we start the process of very slowly clearing up the forecast overnight into Thursday. Lows will fall into the 50s overnight through Thursday morning with patchy dense fog and leftover sprinkles likely. Partly cloudy to partly sunny skies will continue to work in across the Northeast Kingdom, Champlain Valley, and northern New York throughout Thursday afternoon. Highs will achieve the upper 70s to near 80. Meanwhile, it's cloudier with exiting sprinkles from southern Vermont to the Upper Valley. The leftover damp, cloudy forecast will mean highs in the 60s to low 70s. Overall, rainfall totals will average a tenth to a quarter inch or so. Lesser totals will be reserved for the North Country with the highest totals set for southern Vermont and the Upper Valley. Overnight, it's starry skies and patchy fog that returns with lows in the 40s/50s. Friday, high pressure moves in from the Great Lakes which will mean a mostly sunny day with just a few fair weather clouds. Highs will make a seasonable run into the upper 70s to low 80s with north winds and comfortable humidity. The best part about Friday's high pressure is that it will continue to bump power Hurricane Erin out to sea and away from the east, but only after some very high surf/beach erosion/coastal flooding/life-threatening rip currents for the entire east coast. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Shifted grounds, heavy rain prompt emergency repairs on I-69
HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) – A traffic alert for drivers in Hopkins County as crews make emergency repairs to part of I-69. It comes after part of the road was washed out during last week's heavy rain. This happened in the northbound lanes just south of the Earlington exit. Kentucky Transportation officials say the ground shifted under the pavement, which created large cracks in a recently repaired section of the interstate. There is no timeline for those repairs to be complete. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
