WNC towns concerned about dry spell, potential wildfires

CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – An estimated $53 billion worth of damage has been estimated in western North Carolina.

First responders are hoping to get some relief as conditions have become very dry leading to concerns about a wildfire in the region.

When it comes to chances for rain this week, western North Carolina doesn't want a lot of it because there are parts of the ground that remain unstable, however, a little bit will go a long way to tampering down any chances of a major wildfire.

UTVs are the secret weapon to tackling fire troubles in communities hit hard by Helene, able to navigate crumbled roads and get to areas with unstable infrastructure.

For more than 30 years Edneyville Fire Chief Robert Griffin has served his small community helping cover 51 square miles. About five miles down the road behind him is hard-hit Bat Cave.

More than a month later, a community that was once underwater is now experiencing a drought. "We had 30 inches of rain and now we're trying to talk about dry conditions. The sun hitting stuff, just drying it out. You know, humidity is not recovering it good because of the clear skies."

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows half of the state is in a drought. The other half is currently littered with enough dry debris to easily ignite.

"One storm has given us probably 3 to 5 years where the storm damaged trees at one time."