As NC wildfires rage, many can be blamed on one thing: people. ‘We’re our own worst enemy,’ official says.
by Jack Igelman, Carolina Public Press March 14, 2025
Dozens of wildfires are burning across the state following a stretch of unseasonably warm weather, high winds and low humidity.
And just like in years past, the majority of blazes can be traced to be one source: people.
Between Feb. 24 and March 3, the North Carolina Forest Service responded to a staggering 806 wildfires — all caused by humans — that burned more than 3,300 acres across the state.
The latest occurred on Monday. Firefighters responded to a 123-acre wildfire along Millis Road, just west of Nine Mile Road at the Croatan National Forest in Carteret County.
While winds contributed to the fire’s initial growth, rain helped stop its progression. Firefighters worked on removing burning snags and logs around the perimeter. Crews will continue suppression efforts, checking for heat and reinforcing firelines.
Although what caused the fire hasn’t yet been determined, unattended campfires and discarded cigarettes are typically the main causes of many blazes this time of year.
Human-caused forest fires present his state agency and other land managers with a crucial challenge: protecting the growing number of people living in areas where forest and development meet.
“The population is growing to the point where people are beginning to inhabit areas that were previously undeveloped wild forestland,” Jackson explained.
Such areas where the built environment intermingles with nature has been referred to as the “wildland-urban interface.” And North Carolina has more wildland-urban interface acres than any other U.S. state, presenting complex challenges for fire management and public safety.
Meanwhile, local, state and federal agencies work to contain ongoing blazes. Staffing shortages, however, are straining wildland firefighting resources.
A recent weekend saw a surge of wildfires. But the bump in activity, however, wasn’t unexpected, according to Jackson.
David Nelson, the U.S. Forest Service’s fire management officer for the Croatan National Forest, oversees a controlled burn in February 2024. The agency manages more than one million acres of public forest in North Carolina. U.S. Forest Service / Provided
“It was a pretty weekend to be outside,” he said, “so we saw more wildfire starts from campfires and debris burns.”
The spring fire season usually lasts until May. During that time, the potential for blazes will be high. For the next several weeks, low humidity will transform vegetation and woody debris into kindling that’s easily ignited by a stray ember from a routine leaf burn on a windy afternoon.
What worries wildfire responders most are escaped residential brushfires that come from burning leaves or piles of yard debris.
The largest wildfire — so far — was caused by a wind-fallen power line on March 2 in Polk County. The blaze spread to 619 acres and was 91% contained three days later. It’s since been extinguished.
Jackson said that firefighters conducted a controlled, low-intensity fire on the perimeter of the blaze to limit its spread. The strategic fire allowed firefighters “to widen and strengthen containment lines,” he said. “When the fire reaches that area there’s nothing more to burn because it’s already cold and black.”
But that’s just one fire down. There are several more to contend with.
Wildfires take their toll
In the first half of the 20th century, the U.S. Forest Service and other forest managers feared outbreaks of destructive wildfires and snuffed out flames as quickly as possible. But researchers in the 1960s and 1970s demonstrated the benefits of letting wildfires burn — or using “prescribed fire,” which helped reverse decades of fire-suppression policies.
Although fires have meaningful ecological benefits to some forested landscapes, unplanned fires pose a potential danger to wildland firefighters and people who live on the edges of forests. Wildfire response is also expensive, requiring specialized personnel, incident command teams and heavy equipment, such as bulldozers and aircraft.
Of late, the U.S. Forest Service battled several blazes within each of its four national forests including the 20-acre McClure Road Fire in Cherokee County’s Nantahala National Forest; the 194-acre Hicks Cemetery Fire in Haywood County’s Pisgah National Forest; and Montgomery County’s 505-acre Fall Dam Fire in the Uwharrie National Forest.
The current fire in the Croatan National Forest is on the heels of a 114-acre blaze that occurred recently across the same area in coastal Craven County — a region that’s no stranger to wildfires.
In April 2023, the 35,000-acre Great Lakes Fire burned large swaths of highly-flammable pocosin swampland. That fire was, in part, contained by a fortunate shift in winds and the use of controlled fire to reduce fuel in between the highly flammable pocosins and clusters of homes along edges of the National Forest boundary.
In the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forest in Western North Carolina, rangers are particularly concerned about woody debris due to Hurricane Helene. Fighting wildfires in remote areas of the National Forest is complicated by steep terrain that makes it difficult to reach and contain flames.
To that end, the U.S. Forest Service and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy have partnered to remove fallen trees that may have commercial value in the Pisgah National Forest near the Appalachian Trail in McDowell, Burke, Yancey and Mitchell counties.
Although fires have meaningful ecological benefits, unplanned blazes, like this one on Collett Ridge in November 2023, pose a potential danger to firefighters and people who live on the edges of forests. U.S. Forest Service / Provided
However, recent cuts to the Forest Service’s workforce may hamper the agency’s ability to properly do its job. In February, the Trump administration cut 3,400 U.S. Forest Service positions, representing 10% of the agency’s workforce.
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told CPP that wildland firefighting positions are considered public safety jobs.
“Protecting the people and communities we serve, as well as the infrastructure, businesses and resources they depend on to grow and thrive, remains a top priority for the USDA and the Forest Service,” the agency said.
Feeling the burn
The U.S. Forest Service manages more than one million acres of public forest in North Carolina, but the majority of wildfires begin on private land. According to Jackson, 83% of the state’s forestland is privately owned.
“Private landowners are a huge stakeholder,” he said.
In addition to dry conditions and large fuel loads, staffing issues facing the North Carolina Forest Service are complicating fire prevention support and wildfire response.
“We continue to struggle with vacancies due to recruitment and retention issues,” Jackson admitted. “We’re doing the best we can to provide adequate firefighting coverage in areas that are prone to wildfire or more at risk.”
Jackson said the approach isn’t sustainable in the long term, especially during above-average fire seasons. The agency is seeking more funding for higher salaries to attract and retain firefighters.
In addition to the agency’s staffing issues, a recent incident in Eastern North Carolina emphasized a new problem facing firefighters: drones. A state-owned airtanker approaching a wildfire in Craven County was diverted in early March to avoid a collision with a drone hovering above the wildfire.
“We want folks to understand to never fly a drone near or around the wildfire,” Jackson said. “First and foremost it’s illegal, but it significantly hinders our ability to do our job.”
When will Helene-damaged Broadmoor Golf Course be ready for play? FernLeaf Charter School back in business in previously flooded location? • Asheville Watchdog
The Broadmoor Golf Course near Asheville Regional Airport, owned by the airport and leased to DreamCatcher Hotels, suffered over $10 million in flood damage from Tropical Storm Helene. DreamCatcher is rebuilding the course, clubhouse, and maintenance buildings using insurance and company funds, aiming to reopen in spring 2026. Meanwhile, FernLeaf Community Charter School in Fletcher, flooded by Helene, reopened its elementary Creek Campus after nearly a year with new modular buildings. Despite challenges, including ongoing construction and flooding risks, the school rebuilt on its original site with community support and flood insurance, celebrating resilience and continued education.
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: The Broadmoor Golf Course near the airport suffered catastrophic damage during the floods of Helene. Only the driving range has been able to operate. But now there is great activity that looks like the course is being rebuilt. I think the property belongs to the airport, and it is contracted out for management. Who is paying for this work, and when might the course be ready again for play?
My answer: I do miss playing this course, mainly because it’s not often I get a chance to hit a wayward shot onto an interstate, in this case I-26. Usually my drives are confined to the woods or a simple two-lane road.
Real answer: In short, a lot is going on at Broadmoor, which is located off Airport Road about a mile from Asheville Regional. The airport does own the property, but it leases the golf course to a company, DreamCatcher Hotels, which operates the golf course and plans to build a hotel on the property.
Zeke Cooper, president and CEO of DreamCatcher, told me his company has a 50-year lease, and it is committed to site improvements.
“As always planned, we are developing a hotel on the property, which we plan to start site work on later this year,” Cooper said via email.
Tropical Storm Helene inundated the Broadmoor Golf Links course, causing over $10 million in damage. // Photo provided by DreamCatcher Hotels
Helene, which struck our area Sept. 27, inundated the golf course and clubhouse. The French Broad River is close by, and the property is, as the name implies, relatively flat.
“The golf course lost over 1,000 trees and had 12-18 inches of silt covering 60-70 percent of the course,” Cooper said. “The first step was to remove all of the tree debris and remove the silt.”
The company finished that in April, and golf course reconstruction started shortly thereafter.
“The clubhouse had two feet of water on the first floor, with the basement completely submerged,” Cooper said. “The maintenance and irrigation buildings were submerged, resulting in total losses of the buildings and all equipment within them. It was a mess!”
Fortunately, they did have flood insurance. Cooper said total damage exceeded $10 million.
“So a lot of the work is being paid for with insurance funds, as well as our own money,” Cooper said. “We do not have an opening date yet, but expect to reopen in spring of 2026.”
For the golfers out there, Cooper gave a detailed breakdown of all the work they’re doing:
On the golf course: Stripping all greens surfaces, adding in new greens mix and reseeding with bent grass. All greens are completed and currently growing in. The 11th green was completely destroyed, as well as some tee boxes. Those have been rebuilt and are growing in.
All of the fairways and tees have been stripped of silt, regraded and tilled. All of these areas are currently growing in with Bermuda grass.
All of the bunkers were stripped, regraded and rebuilt with new drainage and sand. Sod was used around every greens complex and all bunkers, with the work completed about a month ago.
Tropical Storm Helene left behind 12 to 18 inches of silt on the Broadmoor Golf Links course in the Fletcher area. Workers had it removed by April, and the company that operates the course is rebuilding. // Photo provided by DreamCatcher Hotels
The irrigation electrical system was destroyed, and has now been replaced. New irrigation pumps have been operational the last couple of months. Workers also had to clean out and replace drainage systems, along with lots of bank restabilization.
Driving range: “We were able to open the driving range in a temporary capacity while work was being undertaken on the course,” Cooper said. “We closed the range on Aug. 11, in order to fix damage from the flood. It is currently under construction and we hope to reopen it in the next three to four months. No timetable, yet, as it’s weather dependent this late in the season.”
Clubhouse, maintenance buildings: The company gutted, cleaned and rebuilt the clubhouse. “We are close to hopefully reopening the clubhouse and restaurant in the next two months,” Cooper said. “We are working on finalizing some construction items for a full Certificate of Occupancy, as well as waiting on furniture, fixtures and equipment.”
The maintenance and irrigation buildings are completed and in use, Cooper added.
Question: What is going on with the FernLeaf Community Charter School in Fletcher? I’ve seen they’re putting back in mobile classrooms in the area that flooded, and it looks like it’s close to reopening. I thought they moved all the students to their location further south that sits on top of a hill?
My answer: I suspect all of the new mobile classrooms are actually barges. Pretty ingenious, really.
Real answer: Back in April I wrote about FernLleaf, the flooding at its location off Howard Gap Road in Fletcher, and the school’s plans to rebuild. Helene’s floodwaters filled the buildings with up to six feet of water and swept some of them off their foundations, Nicole Rule, communications, marketing and events coordinator for the school, said then.
On Monday she had some happy news about FernLeaf’s “second act.”
FernLeaf Community Charter School, which sustained major damage at its “Creek Campus” elementary school location in Fletcher, has reopened with new modular buildings. // Photo by Nicole Rule of FernLeaf Charter School.
“On Aug. 13, FernLeaf Community Charter School in Fletcher reopened its Creek Campus — 321 days after Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic flooding swept our main buildings off their foundations and left the campus under several feet of water,” Rule said via email. “In that time, over 430 elementary students and their teachers relocated to our Wilderness Campus (previously home to middle and high schoolers), where they continued learning without missing a beat.”
Rule said, “Community partners, including general contractor Beverly Grant and even the Carolina Panthers Charities (with a $20,000 grant), rallied to help us rebuild.
“While one building is still under construction due to this summer’s unrelenting rain, the reopening marks a milestone for our students, families, and the broader Fletcher/Asheville community,” Rule said. That building should be ready by the end of September.
Michael Luplow, FernLeaf’s executive director, said the school’s “journey has been a powerful demonstration of what we can achieve when we come together.”
“We are immensely grateful for the unwavering support of our students, families, staff, and the broader community,” Luplow said in the press release. “The re-opening of the Creek Campus is not just about a new set of buildings; it is a celebration of our collective spirit and our enduring mission to provide an innovative, inspiring education to our students.”
By the way, FernLeaf did rebuild on the same footprint, which is close to Cane Creek. But this is all approved.
“Since Fern Leaf had previously been constructed in a manner that met our current elevation requirements, they are permitted to go back in at the same elevation,” Town of Fletcher Planning Director Eric Rufa told me in April. “I have encouraged them to go higher, but current circumstances with regard to grade and ADA requirements may hinder that.”
The school did have flood insurance.
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Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content presents factual information about local community issues, such as flood damage and rebuilding efforts at a golf course and a charter school, without expressing partisan opinions or advocating for a particular political ideology. The tone is neutral and focused on reporting details relevant to the community, reflecting a balanced and nonpartisan approach.
SUMMARY: Brooke Johnson, 29, became the first woman to skateboard across the U.S., completing a nearly four-month, 3,000-mile journey from Santa Monica, California, to Virginia Beach. Motivated by a promise to her late stepfather, Roger, who suffered a spinal cord injury and encouraged her to skate across the country, Brooke fulfilled her goal while raising over $54,000 for spinal cord research. Despite emotional and physical challenges, she felt Roger’s support throughout. At the finish line, she wore a necklace containing his ashes, symbolizing their shared journey. Brooke plans to rest before deciding her next adventure. Donations continue via “Brooke Does Everything.”
Brooke Johnson traveled by skateboard from California to Virginia Beach over 118 days to raise over $50000 for spinal cord injury …
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-08-18 08:01:00
Hurricane Erin, which rapidly intensified from Category 1 to Category 5 over the weekend with winds near 160 mph, weakened slightly to Category 4 on Monday while remaining offshore. At 8 a.m., it was about 115 miles north-northeast of Grand Turk and 890 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, moving northwest at 13 mph. Dare County declared an emergency, ordering evacuations for Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks, where NC 12 is at risk of flooding and damage. While Erin is expected to miss U.S. landfall, North Carolina’s coast remains within its wind field amid ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene.
(The Center Square) – Erin, once a Category 5 hurricane over the weekend that more than doubled wind speed to nearly 160 mph, on Monday morning remained on a path to miss landfall of the United States though not without forcing evacuations in North Carolina.
At 8 a.m., the Category 4 hurricane was just east of the southeastern Bahamas, the National Weather Center said, about 115 miles north-northeast of the Grand Turk Islands, and about 890 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras. Erin was moving northwest at 13 mph, forecast to be going north by Wednesday morning while parallel to the Florida panhandle.
Erin had 75 mph maximum winds Friday at 11 a.m., a Category 1, and 24 hours later was near 160 mph and Category 5. It has since gone to a Category 3 before gaining more intensity.
On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, Category 1 is 74-95 mph, Category 2 is 96-110, Category 3 is major and 111-129 mph, Category 4 is 130-156 mph, and Category 5 is greater than 157 mph. While the most-often characterization of Atlantic basin cyclones, the scale is without context on storm surge – a key factor in damage at landfall.
Dare County on Sunday declared an emergency with evacuations ordered for Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks. N.C. 12, the famed 148-mile roadway linking peninsulas and islands of the Outer Banks, is likely to go under water and parts could wash away – as often happens with hurricanes.
NC12 begins at U.S. 70 at the community of Sea Level and runs to a point just north of Corolla and south of the Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve. Two ferries, Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island and Cedar Island to Ocracoke Island, are part of the route.
Nearly all of North Carolina’s 301-mile coastline is within the outer wind field projection from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center. The greatest speed, however, is 20 mph.
Erin’s rapid intensity is among the greatest on record, and particularly so for prior to Sept. 1. Hurricane force winds (74 mph) extend 60 miles from its center.
By midnight Thursday into Friday, the storm is expected to be past a point parallel to the Virginia-North Carolina border and gaining speed away from the coast.
The storm’s miss of the state is particularly welcome in light of Hurricane Helene. Recovery from that storm is in its 47th week. Helene killed 107 in the state, 236 across seven states in the South, and caused an estimated $60 billion in damage to North Carolina.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content provided is a straightforward news report on Hurricane Erin, focusing on meteorological facts, evacuation orders, and recent hurricane impacts in North Carolina. It presents detailed information about the storm’s strength, projected path, and historical context without expressing any opinion or advocating for a particular political viewpoint. The language is neutral and factual, offering updates from official sources and avoiding ideological framing. Thus, it reports on the situation without contributing any discernible political bias or ideological stance.
