Pogue Mountain burns on a chilly night. (Kayla Bartlett)
Mitchell County residents this past week may have noticed hazy, smoky air.
That’s because fire officials and emergency personnel responded to the scene of a forest fire on Pogue Mountain in McDowell County on Tuesday, Nov. 30. Crews worked through the evening to control the flames and continued to extinguish the blaze into Wednesday, Dec. 1.
North Carolina Forest Service officials estimate that as of Dec. 1, approximately 50 acres had burned. Crews worked through the evening on Nov. 30 to construct lines of containment around the fire.
According to officials on scene, no structures were threatened as of Dec. 1.
Work continued Dec. 1 as 30 fire personnel on scene constructed additional containment lines. Terrain in this area is extremely rugged with many areas only accessible by foot.
By late Dec. 1, approximately 110 acres had burned across the mountain and the fire was 30 percent contained. Crews continued to battle the treacherous terrain and dry, windy conditions.
No one was injured in the fire. There is still no information about how the fire started.
A statewide burn ban was issued on Monday, Nov. 29 due to dangerous fire conditions across the state.