USForestService

Hiker rescued after seizure

Marshall McClung
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Santeetlah – Graham County Fire and Rescue members – along with U.S. Forest Service employees – responded to a medical emergency inside the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest around 11:30 a.m., May 20.  Doris Neuman – 67 of Louisville, Ky. – was hiking the Memorial Loop Trail when she suffered a seizure.

Unattended campfire spreads into woods

Marshall McClung
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Milltown – Despite recent rains and a rapid greening of woodlands, the spring fire season is still with us at least for a while. Local firefighters with Graham County Fire and Rescue – as well as the N.C. and U.S. Forest services – responded to a small brush fire around 5:10 p.m., April 30.

After the fire

Marshall McClung
Friday, May 2, 2025
Graham County has experienced one of its busiest spring fire seasons this year, as firefighters were constantly busy with brush fires in March and April – with several of those threatening structures.
On-ground personnel worked to combat the Haoe Lead Fire inside the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest by creating a burn Monday. The smoke from Monday’s start can be seen in the center of this photo from the Obadiah Overlook on the Cherohala Skyway; to the left is smoke from the original fire, which started April 12. Photo courtesy of Joe Leak/U.S. Forest Service Safety Officer, Southern Area Gray Incident Management Team

On-ground personnel worked to combat the Haoe Lead Fire inside the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest by creating a burn Monday. The smoke from Monday’s start can be seen in the center of this photo from the Obadiah Overlook on the Cherohala Skyway; to the left is smoke from the original fire, which started April 12. Photo courtesy of Joe Leak/U.S. Forest Service Safety Officer, Southern Area Gray Incident Management Team

Fire burns 3,103 acres

Marshall McClung
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Santeetlah – The Haoe Lead Fire started from an April 12 lightning strike, around 4,000 feet in elevation and near the intersection of the Jenkins Meadow and Haoe Lead trails.

Fires continue

Marshall McClung
Saturday, March 22, 2025
There was little rest for the weary, as U.S. Forest Service firefighters were atop Graham County’s highest mountain – Big Huckleberry – off the Cherohala Skyway on March 10.  A campfire had escaped into the grassy area and was controlled after burning less than an acre.

More snowfall, more … brush fires?

Marshall McClung
Friday, January 31, 2025
Santeetlah – Apparently, the saying “history repeats itself” is true: the last two snowfalls in Graham County have both been followed by brush fires in the same weeks.  Maybe the next time it snows, firefighters will be tempted to grab fire rakes instead of snow shovels. Shortly after 3 p.m.

Brush fire follows snowfall

Marshall McClung
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Tuskeegee – As an example of how quickly mountain weather can change, locals experienced snowfall and a brush fire in the same week. Graham County 911 was notified of a brush fire near Whiteside Gap Road in the Lower Sawyers Creek area around 1:20 p.m., Jan. 15.
Richard “Dick” Evans (left) was surprised by Heath Emmons with the U.S. Forest Service and the Partners of Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness on Monday with the Region 8 Volunteer of the Year Award. Photo by Kevin Hensley/editor@grahamstar.com

Richard “Dick” Evans (left) was surprised by Heath Emmons with the U.S. Forest Service and the Partners of Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness on Monday with the Region 8 Volunteer of the Year Award. Photo by Kevin Hensley/editor@grahamstar.com

3rd time’s the charm

Kevin Hensley
Thursday, June 6, 2024
There are roughly 3,800 acres of land inside the borders of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Chances are, Dick Evans knows every inch of them like the back of his hand. A volunteer with the U.S.

Spring brush fires continue to spark

Marshall McClung
Thursday, May 2, 2024
The woods may be “greening up,” but spring fire season is not over just yet. The Graham County 911 Center received a report of a brush fire burning on Upper Tuskegee Road around 7 p.m., April 23. The caller had stated the blaze was the “size of a baseball field.
A fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in the Santeetlah area required the use of helicopters to help fight the flames overhead. Photo courtesy of Tory Lynnes/U.S. Forest Service

A fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in the Santeetlah area required the use of helicopters to help fight the flames overhead. Photo courtesy of Tory Lynnes/U.S. Forest Service

Separate debris fires wreak havoc

Marshall McClung
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Sunday was anything but a day of rest for local firefighters, as they were busy with two brush fires. The largest fire began shortly after 4 p.m., near Maggie Wachacha Road, in the Santeetlah area. It was started from a debris burn on tribal land.