'I am just really grateful': Polk County wildfire 63% contained, evacuations lifted, officials say
POLK COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — North Carolina wildfires have scorched hundreds of acres of forest in western North Carolina.
The fires prompted voluntary evacuations in Polk County as crews continue to try to contain them.
'Look at the blue sky. Could you ask for more? The flowers against the blue sky,' Tryon resident Trisha Attaway said. 'Here comes the helicopter looking at the forest fire.'
An almost perfect spring-like day in Polk County, contrasted by a plume of white smoke and the constant echoes of helicopters flying above the mountain near Attaway's home.
Carolina Wildfires: City of Morganton issuing burn ban
'I've seen the helicopters all morning,' she said. 'They have been all over the place.'
Since Saturday, local firefighters and the N.C. Forest Service has been working to contain a wildfire that was sparked by a downed power line. Since Saturday, the fire has spread nearly 600 acres.
'It was difficult to maintain the fire perimeter due to numerous factors — one being the steep terrain, the windy gusty conditions and also some of the debris that was taken down by Helene that we are having to deal with as well,' N.C. Forest Service Forestry Technician Jeremy Waldrop said.
On one side of Highway 176 in Tryon, homeowners voluntarily evacuated. On the other side of the road, the entire mountainside was charred black.
Gaston County crews battling woods fire near Cramerton
'Friends told me that my house was probably gone. It's not going to be your house anymore,' Attaway said.
Attaway returned home Monday morning to find her house, which had made it through Hurricane Helene, still standing. The fire line was just feet away from her property.
'Leave me be and let me be bored, but no, all of these humongous adventures coming up, but thanks be to God I am alive, and everything is well, and I haven't suffered really, and I am just really grateful,' she said.
As of 5:00 pm ET Monday, the North Carolina Forest Service says 63 percent of the wildfire has been contained.
A spokesperson with the agency says they do not believe any homes were damaged or destroyed and all evacuations have been lifted.
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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sullivan County revisits hazard mitigation plan
SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Sullivan County officials, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) and community members met on Wednesday to discuss the county's updated five-year mitigation plan. Every county in Tennessee has a hazard mitigation plan to prepare for natural disasters. This is the first revision to the plan since Hurricane Helene. Michael Lamphere, TEMA's East Regional Planner, said it is essential to anticipate all the possibilities of the future. 'Hazard mitigation is basically how I looked at what to look at,' he said. 'It is think of the worst case scenario, the worst disaster that you could think of is going to happen to your community or your jurisdiction. How would you prevent that from actually causing damage and saving lives and property? What would you do to mitigate that today?' Lamphere said a hazard mitigation plan helps create less financial strain on the community. 'Basically, for every dollar that is spent on mitigation, it saves between 6 and $8 on future damage,' Lamphere said. 'So if something happened today, if you actually spent that money ahead of time to prepare for that, it would save a lot of money in the future if a disaster were to hit because you helped prepare it, mitigate that disaster before it actually happened.' Sullivan County Emergency Management Agency Director Jim Bean said that reviewing the plan at least every five years ensures that the most critical projects remain a priority in disaster recovery efforts. 'The biggest reason to update, at least every five years, is, number one, not to go stale with your project,' Bean said. 'When I first came into the job, a little over ten years ago, we were repeating projects that hadn't been completed in the past five years. So we wanted to make sure, you know, this wasn't something that fell to the wayside. And, so we would create a list of projects, and we worked toward them in those five years.' The hazard mitigation plan only protects against natural disasters, not human-caused issues. 'Floods, landslides,' Bean said. 'Earthquakes, strong winds, tornadoes, all those, all the other natural disasters, and other than manmade, and nothing, specifically public health related like we went through two years ago.' Once the plan is submitted, FEMA has 60 days to review and accept it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bryan Norcross: Hurricane season to continue on pause for a while
Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, June 11, 2025 The atmosphere over the tropical Atlantic continues to be hostile to tropical development. High pressure, which is often sprawled across the Atlantic, has persistently nosed well into the Gulf. That high has blocked any tropical systems from turning north and caused persistent dry weather across Florida. Occasional disturbances have moved off Africa and through the tropical moisture belt south of the high-pressure system, as we expect this time of year. However, the unusual breadth and strength of the high has directed systems with the potential to develop into the Eastern Pacific. Two storms have already formed and another is likely. The second factor keeping the Atlantic quiet is Saharan dust. The flow around the high-pressure system has opened a persistent channel for the dusty air to spread west into the Caribbean and occasionally to Florida and into the Gulf. Artificial Intelligence Among New Tech Shaping Forecasts During 2025 Hurricane Season The ocean water temperatures across the tropical Atlantic between the Caribbean and Africa have returned to normal this year after two years of being extremely warm. That means that, unlike last year, no storms are unlikely to form east of the Caribbean until the water warms up later in the hurricane season. Water temperatures in the Caribbean Sea and the southern Gulf are always warm enough for tropical development, and this year they are even warmer than normal. A disturbance has to trigger a system to organize, however, and the dust and the storm track into the Pacific have kept the lid on any development. Computer forecast models, including the new AI models, are showing a slight chance that something might develop in the far western Gulf next week, but the chances are very low. Until the sprawling high-pressure system breaks down, tropical development is unlikely. The odds favor the Atlantic staying quiet through next week, at least. The delayed start to the hurricane season is not unusual. About a third of the time since 1950, the first Atlantic storm was named after June 15. And it's important to note that the eventual busyness of the hurricane season is not related to how it starts. In 2004, which was a gangbuster year with four hurricanes impacting Florida, the first storm to get a name in the tropics was Bonnie, and that wasn't until August 9. Alex formed on August 1, but in the far North Atlantic. So that wasn't related to the season's tropical developments. All indications are that this hurricane season will get busy once it gets going. Researchers at Colorado State University updated their seasonal prediction today but did not change their numbers from their April forecast. They are still calling for 17 named storms, 9 of them hurricanes, with 4 of them reaching Category 3 or above. Updated 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast Maintains Above-average Predictions Fueled By Warm Ocean Temps Hurricane season forecasts are issued by a variety of companies and agencies around the world. They all predict a similar outcome to the CSU numbers - average to slightly above average activity. But the CSU team acknowledges that the forecast is more uncertain this year than normal. If the tropical Atlantic warms up before the peak of the season, or a hurricane-supporting La Niña develops in the Pacific this fall, none of us will be surprised. For now, enjoy the article source: Bryan Norcross: Hurricane season to continue on pause for a while
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
EF-1 tornado leaves trail of damage near Chapin, South Carolina
CHAPIN, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down near Chapin in Lexington County during Monday night's storms. The EF-1 twister packed winds of up to 95 miles per hour and left a trail of damage along its six-mile path. According to the NWS, the tornado touched down just southwest of Chapin around 8:43 p.m. and was on the ground for about six minutes, lifting just east of town at 8:49 p.m. BE THE FIRST TO KNOW: The storm carved a path that stretched 6.17 miles long and up to 200 yards wide. This is the seventh confirmed tornado in the National Weather Service's Columbia County Warning Area (CWA) so far this year and the second one in Lexington County in 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
