North Mitchell residents had a scare last week when they were asked to be pre- pared for a possible evacuation while firefighters battled to get the Beans Creek Fire under control.
Mitchell County emergency staffers used the "Ready, Set, Go!" protocol to keep area residents updated on how much of a threat the fire posed to lives and homes. Fork Mountain Fire & Rescue and the North Carolina Forest Service worked together to coordinate the firefighting effort.
The "Ready, Set, Go!" "program was developed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs to improve communication between firefighters and those impacted by wildfire. The protocol divides wildfire preparedness into stages: the "Ready" stage involve preparations made to have an escape plan, some of which can be completed before a fire starts; the ""Set"" stage involves staying on top of updates and alerts from firefighters once a fire starts so as to be prepared to leave quickly when the time comes; and the "Go" stage involves evacuating when necessary. Last week, local emergency officials asked residents of Melton Branch Road and the housing community of Shootout Mountain to be "Set" to go if an evacuation occurred.
However, after almost a week of effort by firefighters, and heavy rains that fell after months of drought, the fire was 100 percent contained by Friday, without an evacuation being necessary. "The Beans Creek Fire is now 100 percent contained, the final update read. "Melton Branch Road and the housing community of Shootout Mountain have returned to normal status."
Updates for this fire, and for other recent fires, were released via the Mitchell Ready app, which is available in cellphone app stores for free download. Mitchell County also uses the Hyper-Reach emergency alert phone call and text system, for those who prefer not to rely entirely on an app. You can sign up for Hyper-Reach here: https://signup.hyper- reach.com/hyper_reach/ sign_up_page_2/?id=72407
For those who want more information about how to be ""Ready"" for future wildfires, there is information about that here:
https://www. wildlandfirersg.org/s/are-you- wildfire-ready?lan- guage=en_US
The tips include information on how to landscape in a way that won't offer excessive fuel to wild fires, how to prepare a personal evacuation plan, and other information.
