Santeetlah – With Graham County in the early stages of a drought, local forest land has become dry enough for brush fires.
Local firefighters with the Graham County and Snowbird Fire departments – as well as the U.S. Forest Service – responded to a reported brush fire in the Huffman Creek area around 3 p.m., Friday.
The fire was controlled after burning a small area near a stream.
It appeared that the fire had started when someone attempted to burn a small brush pile.
Landowners are urged to be careful with any debris burning until sufficient rainfall has been received to ease the current drought conditions.
As of July 18, Graham County is under a D2 “severe drought,” according to the North Carolina monitor. D4 – “exceptional drought” is the most intense.
Publisher/editor Kevin Hensley also contributed to this report.