Meanwhile officials are urging people in 25 western counties of North Carolina to abide by the outdoor burning ban.
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This image from by the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Virginia, notes the path that smoke from wildfires in Kentucky, Tennessee and elsewhere is taking into West Virginia and Virginia. More than 1,000 of those fires were in the mountains and burned 3,375 acres.
A persistent drought and gusty winds, combined with dangerously rough terrain, is making several forest fires in North Carolina tough to put out, according to the North Carolina Forest Service.
Poplar Creek volunteer firefighters discovered a body on Thursday while extinguishing a grass fire on Winfrey Road in Poplar Creek community in Montgomery County, The Winona Times reported. A fire in the Brimstone Recreation Area was clouding skies near and in the Big South Fork, the newspaper reports.
“The weather has been so dry and with relatively low humidity”, he said.
“The goal of expanding the ban in closer to dwellings is to eliminate any outdoor burning not covered by NC Forest Service Ban”, says Jason Potter, Caldwell County Deputy Fire Marshal. The ban will be in effect until further notice.
Dolce said the wildfires burning in the southern Appalachians are in an area where drought conditions have worsened significantly during the last few months.
“Hunters and forest visitors should be aware of current fire restrictions”, said Fire Management Officer CorDell Taylor.
According to WKYT, the largest of these fires are burning in Harlan, Letcher and Pike counties.
The county mayor urged residents not to start any fires in the woods and to be careful with disposing of cigarettes.
Brush fires have not yet proven a significant issue for county officials. They’ve had three fires each, with 16 acres or less burned.
The Kentucky Division of Forestry says there are now 33 wildfires reported across the state.
The ban includes Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg counties, officials said.
The statewide burn ban prohibits the burning of leaves and brush, fence rows, construction debris, fields, gardens, wooded areas and grassland, cardboard, wooden items, and household waste.
Part of the fire was as close 100 feet to one house. See more about the ban here, which if violated carries a $100 fine plus court costs of $180.
The fires could cause wild or stray animals to move into residential areas, said Jennifer King of the North Georgia Health District. The majority were suspected arson.
On burnsafetn.org, a Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry website, a map shows a concentration of fires along the Cumberland Plateau and other blazes throughout East Tennessee.
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The Associated Press reported the forest fire near Lake Lure near Asheville, N.C. has been burning for four days.
