Latest news with #BoDossett
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Communities scramble to flee as explosive wildfires torch over 10 square miles: 'One more thing that they're having to deal with'
Fires that burned almost 10 square miles in late March across two counties of western North Carolina forced officials to issue mandatory evacuation orders. Tinder-dry conditions and fuel provided by leftover debris from Hurricane Helene set the stage for a voracious spring wildfire season in the Carolinas, the Associated Press reported. Even after a statewide burn ban that had been in effect for nearly two weeks in late March was lifted, wildfires continued to rage across North Carolina. As April began, there were at least eight wildfires burning across North Carolina, the largest of which burned nearly four thousand acres. South Carolina also started April with eight active wildfires. The Table Rock Fire, the state's largest at the time, had charred nearly 13,000 acres. Residents of two harder-hit counties in western North Carolina, Polk and Henderson, were under evacuation orders and urged to move to an emergency shelter. "A lot of the damage and the blowdown, the downed trees from Hurricane Helene are contributing to the difficulties that our firefighters are facing trying to contain this fire and so that has just been kind of one ongoing crisis from September all through into the spring for a lot of these residents," North Carolina Forest Service spokesperson Bo Dossett told the AP. "This is one more thing that they're having to deal with on top of what they experienced back in the fall." Recent rains have helped firefighters get many of the fires under control over the last week, and assisting firefighters from out of state have begun traveling home, but not all fires are completely contained yet and there is still much recovery work to do even in the areas that are out of the woods. Several rapid attribution studies have shown Hurricane Helene was supercharged by the overheating of the planet. Scientists with World Weather Attribution concluded that our warming world was a "key driver of catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Helene that devastated both coastal and inland communities." The debris left in the storm's wake dried up in the unusually warm and dry period that followed. The period of October through February was the 31st-warmest and fourth-driest on record for North Carolina, and the 26th-warmest and fourth-driest for South Carolina. The last U.S. Drought Monitor report posted in March revealed that 61% of North Carolina and nearly 60% of South Carolina were enduring a moderate drought, level one out of four. "Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States during the last two decades," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Report. Reducing the amount of heat-trapping gases released into Earth's atmosphere by transitioning from dirty energy to renewable energy sources will help cool our planet. We can all help curb harmful carbon pollution by doing things like installing a heat pump, switching to an induction stove, or signing up for community solar power — which can seem small, but once added up across even a million people, make a big difference. Do you think your house could withstand a hurricane? No way Maybe a weak one I'm not sure It definitely could Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Carolina wildfires fueled by drought, wind and fallen trees from Hurricane Helene
Dry conditions, wind and trees downed by Hurricane Helene fueled wildfires in North Carolina and South Carolina, where evacuation orders were in effect Tuesday. Many people in the area are still getting over the hurricane that hit in September, according to North Carolina Forest Service spokesperson Bo Dossett. 'A lot of the damage and the blowdown, the downed trees from Hurricane Helene are contributing to the difficulties that our firefighters are facing trying to contain this fire and so that has just been kind of one ongoing crisis from September all through into the spring for a lot of these residents,' Dossett said. 'This is one more thing that they're having to deal with on top of what they experienced back in the fall.' The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for parts of the South Carolina Upstate, western North Carolina and northeast Georgia through Tuesday night, as conditions were expected to be favorable for the rapid spread of wildfire with lingering dry air and winds picking up to 10 to 20 mph and gusting 25 to 35 mph. Mandatory evacuations were in effect for 146 properties in rural Polk County on Tuesday, about 80 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina, according to county spokesperson Kellie Cannon. Three fires there have burned at least 9.6 square miles in that county and in neighboring Henderson County as of Tuesday, and the two larger fires are uncontained, according to the forest service. Officials released maps on Tuesday that show evacuation zones in the two counties. The Black Cove Fire is one of the larger blazes. Officials said a downed power line sparked that fire, but the causes of the other two fires are under investigation. Henderson County has issued voluntary evacuation orders and opened an emergency shelter. Volunteer fire departments were on standby, Henderson County spokesperson Mike Morgan told WLOS-TV. 'Especially near some of the homes where if the fire did jump, we can be there to help protect those homes,' Morgan said. 'We're here to monitor the situation very closely.' Two fires were burning in the mountains of South Carolina. The fires in Table Rock State Park and nearby Persimmon Ridge have burned a combined 2.3 square miles, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said. Officials said both fires were ignited by human activity and neither were contained as of Monday night. No injuries were reported, and no structures were imminently threatened as of Monday night, but voluntary evacuations were issued for about 100 homes over the weekend. On Tuesday morning, the forestry commission updated an earlier announcement to say no evacuations were planned near the Persimmon Ridge Fire, but residents were urged to be prepared to leave their homes if an evacuation is suggested in the future. 'The weather over the next few days remains concerning, as relative humidities are expected to remain very low, and the forecasted wind speeds will still be conducive to spreading the fire,' the forestry commission said. Dry weather and millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year are creating a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, according to North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller. Scheller predicted this busy fire season if the region saw dry weather after the hurricane. 'Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,' Scheller said. 'Then these flash droughts allow that fuel to dry out very fast.' Despite recent rain, most of the Carolinas are abnormally dry or experiencing a moderate drought, according to federal monitors. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
