Party Rock fire spreads, forces resident evacuations
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LAKE LURE - A wildfire that ignited a week ago has aggressively spread to nearly 3,000 acres and threatens several communities near Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. Flames have also caused concern in Buncombe and Henderson counties as more and more acres are charred.
Firefighters say the Party Rock fire, which started Nov. 5 about a mile north from Lake Lure, is not traditional for Western North Carolina and is acting more and more like a California wildfire.
"With really dry fuels mixed with no rain in sight, compounded by steep terrain, it's like we're fighting a fire out west," said spokeswoman Victoria Tilloston with the N.C. Forest Service.
As most of Western North Carolina remains in a severe drought, dry fuels on the ground have caused an unusual fall fire season. Fire has been spreading more rapidly due to high wind gusts, steep terrain and low humidity levels coupled with extremely dry conditions.
On Sunday morning, a bit of hope emerged in the forecast: The National Weather Service forecast included a 40 percent chance of rain after 10 a.m. Sunday and a 30 percent chance overnight Sunday.
Western NC fires more contained; Party Rock stable
As the fire increased in size Saturday to 2,883 acres, authorities drove door to door and knocked on residences in more than 15 communities.
Kristen Butterfield, who works at a local shop in Chimney Rock, said around noon Friday authorities began ordering people to evacuate. Then she saw a structure catch fire.
"We had to get out," she said. "They told us at noon and we were out by 2 p.m. at the latest. We took everything we could."
Butterfield said the evacuation was calm despite the swiftness.
Her friend Andre Whilden, who lives behind Chimney Rock village, said she and her husband hardly got any notice.
"We got everything packed that we could," she said, which included seven animals. But they had to leave behind three outside cats.
On Saturday, Whilden was able to go back into the evacuation site near her home and rescue one cat who had hunkered down near the house out of panic.
Whilden said on Wednesday she saw one firetruck after another speed past her house and she knew the fire was getting worse.
"I didn't expect to be evacuated," she said. "I expected it to stay up on the mountain, but on Wednesday I knew something wasn't right so I went down to the visitor's center, looked to my left and the whole mountain was on fire."
Whilden said the worst part of being evacuated is not knowing when she'll be able to go home.
The Rumbling Bald Resort Security Department updated its residents on Sunday morning with this post: “We drove through the RESIDENTIAL areas that were previously in the danger zones. We did not see any trouble spots. The Forestry Service is on Cardinal Road at the top of Quail Ridge and at The Kings Ranch. Our chances of rain look good today.”
As the fire has continued to grow, the N.C. Service Forest has brought in several more resources including about 256 people from across the country. Personnel has arrived from Florida, Oregon and California, Tilloston said.
Firefighters have focused on ensuring no lives are lost and protecting structures, and none were lost as of Saturday, she said.
As firefighters work 16-hour shifts, they have been shoveling dirt to form fire control lines to keep the flames from spreading as well as keeping the lines clean of leaf litter and other fuels on the ground. Additionally, crews have been meeting fire with fire as they have conducted back burns from the fire lines to kill any fuel on the ground.
"We are learning that the best places we can stop it are roads," Tilloston said. "So we are utilizing natural and man-made structures. We've also built hand lines and bulldozer lines around Chimney Rock.
"Firefighters have been pushing and nudging the fire around obstacles," she said.
Fifteen percent of the fire was contained Saturday, meaning the area on the southeastern side of Rumbling Bald Mountain near Lake Lure was safe, and fire was not expected to ignite there again, Tilloston added.
With about 85 percent of the fire still not contained and pushing toward Shumont Mountain, mandatory evacuations were made in Henderson County with voluntary evacuations issued in Buncombe County.
The evacuation was issued for the communities along U.S. 64/74-A from the Henderson County line to N.C. 9, N.C. 9 to Shumont Road, and all Henderson County homes on Shumont Road, according to a release from the Henderson County Sheriff's Office.
The American Red Cross had several shelters set up to provide food and a place to sleep to anyone uprooted from their homes.
By Saturday morning, four sites had no clients, according to Red Cross officials.
"Most people are staying with family or friends," said volunteer Michael Reynolds.
Teresa Demato, who was evacuated from a condo she was renting in the Rumbling Bald Resort, said she came to the shelter at Bills Creek Baptist Church, but she had her 8-year-old dog Reggie with her and couldn't stay there. To her surprise, a woman offered up her vacation cottage.
"Everybody we have met has been so welcoming," she said. "We were connected and taken care of."
Demato moved to the area a month ago after she and her husband retired, from upstate New York. They were prepared to evacuate Wednesday after initial notices were given, but Friday they fled in about 15 minutes.
"It was really unsettling because we have not settled in yet," she said. "But we have been very welcomed and made new friends. With something negative, something positive comes."
Evacuations have also occurred in Clay, Macon, Swain and Graham counties as about 20 wildfires have been burning near the Nantahala National Forest on U.S. Forest Service land.
With so many ongoing wildfires and the severe drought, Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency Thursday for 25 counties in the western part of the state that also have burn bans in place. He visited the Party Rock fire Thursday as well.
McCrory announced Saturday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved his request for financial assistance to fight the wildfires in western North Carolina. FEMA approved the Fire Management Assistance Grant, which means the agency will now pay for 75 percent of the emergency protective measures taken in fighting the fires.
“This is good news in our continued efforts to protect lives and property as teams continue to try to get these fires under control,” McCrory said. “It is imperative that we use all of the resources at our disposal to handle this serious and dangerous situation in western North Carolina.”
At the Party Rock fire, as firefighters working the night shift were about to come on, their focus was to continue to get ahead of the fire and do their best to make sure no one's life or structures are in jeopardy.
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