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Blue Ridge Parkway wildfire now estimated at 370 acres, 50% contained
TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A wildfire burning near the Blue Ridge Parkway has grown to an estimated 370 acres and is now 50% contained, officials with the U.S. Forest Service said on Saturday.
Officials say the fire, officially named the Barnett Branch Fire, has been burning in rough terrain of the Pisgah National Forest off the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Pisgah Inn since April 27.
The growth in fire size since yesterday is due to burnout operations in which firefighters remove fuels between the containment lines and the fire’s edge to better control the intensity of the fire and secure containment lines,” a press release from the Forest Service says.