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NC Forest Service warns of increased wildfire risk in western part of state after Helene
It has been over a month since the storm ravaged western North Carolina.
NORTH CAROLINA, USA — According to the North Carolina Forest Service, the potential for increased wildfire activity in western North Carolina is above normal in November in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
The Forest Service says the increased fire risk can be attributed to the amount of debris on the ground in the wake of the storm. They also say damage caused by Helene will cause difficulties for first responders as they try to access some wildfires.
“Tree destruction behind Hurricane Helene’s 80-100+ mph wind gusts will have long-lasting impacts to the fire environment, extending from its landfall along the Florida Big Bend through southern and eastern Georgia, the western Carolinas and smaller portions of southwest Virginia, southeast Kentucky and northeast Tennessee,” the national outlook from National Interagency Fire Center reads. “This damage appears to be most concentrated on southeast-facing ridges and through mountain gaps.”
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