 AIR QUALITY INFORMATION Air Quality Conditions: Fine particulate concentrations in the Code Green range are being observed at all monitors across the state. For a display of the most recent air quality conditions throughout the remainder of this afternoon, please visit the U.S. EPA's AIRNOW website. Forecast Valid: Saturday, 12/03/16 General Forecast Discussion: An area of high pressure will translate slowly eastward across the Carolinas tomorrow, bringing sunny and seasonable weather to the state with light and variable winds. Localized Code Yellow conditions due to patchy wildfire smoke from eastern Tennessee will remain a possibility over the Asheville forecast region. Otherwise, Code Green conditions should remain in place statewide tomorrow. Outlook: Cloudy skies with areas of rain showers will be possible Sunday as an area of low pressure moves over the southeast. A stronger area of low pressure may approach the Carolinas later on Monday. This unsettled weather should keep Code Green air quality in place statewide through Monday. NOTE: This is the final air quality report for the Evening Summary. To see the latest forecast information, visit the North Carolina Air Quality Forecast Center website at https://xapps.ncdenr.org/aq/ForecastCenter. BURN BAN INFORMATION Fire experts with the N.C. Forest Service say recent rains have helped to reduce fire danger in the North Carolina mountains, prompting the agency to lift the ban on open burning for 32 counties effective at 5:00 P.M. Friday, 12/02/16. The burn ban has been lifted in these counties: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey. In counties where the ban has been lifted, people wanting to burn debris will need to reapply for a permit. However, the Piedmont received significantly less rain, and fire experts are less comfortable with fuel conditions there, so the burn ban will remain in effect for the following 15 counties: Anson, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Stanly, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin. CLICK HERE to read the full announcement. TODAY'S UPDATES ON ACTIVE FIRES OR FIRE COMPLEXES Only those fires being actively managed and staffed are included in the Evening Summary. HORTON FIRE (NCFS - BLOWING ROCK, WATAUGA COUNTY) The Horton fire is 100% contained at 1,450 acres. The North Idaho Type 3 Team will transfer management of the fire to local agency tomorrow. Local firefighters will continue to monitor the fire until it reaches full controlled status. Smoke from deep pockets of heat within containment lines may be visible for several day but is not expected to pose a threat. This is the last update provided in the Evening Summary. Acreage: 1,450 - Containment: 100% - Personnel: 50 - Start Date: November 21 http://hortonfire.blogspot.com/ BOTELER FIRE, MAPLE SPRINGS AND NANTAHALA BRANCH FIRES (USFS-CHUNKY GAL AREA, CLAY COUNTY) The Southern Area Blue Team is assigned management of the Boteler Fire, Maple Springs Fire and the Nantahala Branch Fires. Under this branch, Camp Branch Fire is active. The fires being patrolled/monitored are: Tellico Fire, Old Roughy Fire, Buck Creek Fire, Falls Fire, Grape Cove Fire, Moses Creek Fire, Jones Gap Fire, Jarrett Knob Fire, Wine Spring Fire, Mulberry Fire, Moss Knob Fire, May Branch Fire, Boardtree Fire, Charley Creek Fire, Nick Fire, Ridge Gap Fire, Ferebee Fire, Cliffside Fire, Whitewater Fire, Howard Gap Fire, Knob Fire, Muskrat Fire, Bullpen Fire, Jones Creek Fire, Cathey Gap Fire, Dick's Creek Fire. The focus has transitioned to suppression repair and restoration efforts. Remaining hotspots on the Camp Branch Fire are well within the perimeter and may continue to produce smoke. As more fires in the region become completed, excess resources will continue to be released and available to assist with other area fires. The Southern Area Blue Team will transition management of the fires to a smaller team on Sunday. This update pertains to the following fires:
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5075/
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5090/
Acreage: 3,422 - Containment: 75% - Personnel: 220 - Start Date: November 23 http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5110/# ROCK MOUNTAIN FIRE (USFS - SOUTHERN NANTAHALA WILDERNESS AREA, NORTH GEORGIA AND CLAY AND MACON COUNTIES IN NC) The following roads remain closed: Coleman River Road, Patterson Gap Road and Abe Gap Road. Assigned resources continue to patrol and mop up hotspots along the fire perimeter. Suppression repair work started around Tate Dip and Tallulah River Road, as well as other local roads and trails. Similar efforts will continue along the contained portions of the incident with the guidance of resource advisers. Significant demobilization of excess resources will continue. Acreage: 24,725- Containment: 70% - Personnel: 534 - Start Date: November 9 http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5100/# PINNACLE MOUNTAIN FIRE (SCFS / USFS - PICKENS AND TRANSYLVANIA COUNTIES) An overnight infrared flight revealed hot spots in the active northeastern section of the fire. Handcrews and a fire track focused efforts on this area, extinguishing hot spots, clearing the leaf fall and cutting down hazard trees. Crews patrolled firelines on the eastern area of the fire to look for hazards. Table Rock State Park Trail Closures: Carrick Creek Trail, Table Rock Trail, Pinnacle Mountain Trail and the Foothills trail portion that is located on Table Rock. For more information, please contact the park directly at 864-878-9813 or tablerock@scprt.com. Acreage: 10,560 - Containment: 84% - Personnel: 118 - Start Date: November 9 http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5108/ Media Advisory: For all information about the Pinnacle Mountain Fire and the ongoing response in South Carolina, all media should contact the Pinnacle Mountain Joint Information Center at (864) 898-2437 or pmfjic@gmail.com. OTHER PERTINENT LINKS Nantahala National Forest Closures http://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/nfsnc/home/?cid=stelprdb5379710&width=full Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests (relative to the ROCK MOUNTAIN FIRE) http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/conf/home/?cid=fseprd523949 Appalachian Trail (A.T.) http://www.appalachiantrail.org/home/explore-the-trail/trail-updates The latest information is available on the Joint Information Center blog athttp://ncjic.blogspot.com/ for the following topics:  Comments are closed.
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