Despite areas of North Carolina receiving steady rainfall last week, the statewide burn ban issued by the N.C. Forest Service is still in effect.
Hazardous conditions inside forests around the state forced the ban to be enacted March 28, according to a press release from the N.C. Forest Service. The ban does not include the area within 100 feet of a dwelling, which has to be issued at the local level; Graham County Fire Marshal Jack Johnson took care of the matter concurrently with the enactment of the March 28 ban.
While the ban is in effect, all outdoor burning is prohibited. If a fire is spotted, firefighters can show up and extinguish the flames without notice or being dispatched – per N.C. Fire Code 307.3.
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality reported April 2 in a press release that drought conditions had "worsened" across the state, with 15 counties now experiencing an "extreme" drought.
Most counties were said to be under a "severe" or "moderate" drought, according to the release.
Graham County is classified as being under a "D3" (extreme) drought, as is Anson, Cabarrus, Cherokee, Clay, Edgecombe, Halifax, Jackson, Macon, Mecklenburg, Nash, Rowan, Stanly, Swain and Union counties.
Locally, firefighters have enjoyed a calm week. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials released a statement April 2 that the Fox Gap Fire off N.C. 28 – which began March 26, near the Twenty Mile Ranger Station in Swain County, between Fontana Dam and Deals Gap – was 100% contained.
The release said that firefighters from the Cherokee National Forest, the Nantahala National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management all assisted during the seven-day battle with the blaze.