Wildfire continues to burn in North Carolina amid ongoing drought
Very dry conditions, combined with falling foliage, are fueling a wildfire burning in western North Carolina.
Transcript
00:00 Well, a state of emergency has been declared in Henderson County in western North Carolina
00:05 due to wildfires and ongoing dry conditions.
00:09 One of those fires is the Poplar Drive fire, which has burned 431 acres since breaking
00:16 out Friday afternoon in Hendersonville, which is south of Asheville.
00:20 Extreme meteorologist Dr. Reid Timmer has been keeping an eye on this wildfire and the
00:24 dry conditions in the area.
00:27 You can see how much fuel there is available for this fire.
00:30 We're just after peak fall colors, well past peak, and so now you see a lot of dry brown
00:35 foliage and there's also drought conditions here across the mountains of western North
00:39 Carolina and the Carolina Piedmont, and that's creating prime wildfire conditions.
00:45 Two homes and an outbuilding were lost in the Poplar Drive fire, while another home
00:49 sustained minimal damage.
00:52 In this evening's update, officials said that one firefighter was treated and released for
00:56 a minor injury.
00:57 No other injuries have been reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
01:01 Meanwhile, a burn ban is in effect in Henderson County, along with multiple other counties
01:07 in the state of North Carolina, all due to the ongoing drought.
01:10 (wind whooshing)