“As of Thursday morning, the Crooked Creek Fire in McDowell County has burned an estimated 250 acres and is now 55 percent contained. Emergency crews said they made significant progress overnight as winds diminished and relative humidity increased, leading to lower fire activity,” the New York Post reported.
The evacuation order for affected areas has been lifted, enabling residents to return home, according to the report. Emergency personnel will stay on-site on Thursday to monitor the fire and oversee further containment.
No injuries or deaths have been reported, the report states. One home has been damaged and multiple outbuildings have been destroyed, officials said.
The fire was caused by a tree on a downed power line, combined with high speed winds pushing, the McDowell County Office of Emergency Management said.
“The emergency management of this county had said that it’s a lot of that debris from Helene and the cut-down trees, the dry brush, that’s making it challenging for a lot of these firefighters,” FOX News Multimedia Reporter Chelsea Torres said.
Two other fires ignited on Wednesday afternoon north of Marion. Officials said no evacuations are in place for those two fires.
“The North Carolina Forest Service warned residents on Wednesday that conditions would be ideal for fire weather but should improve in the evening. Low humidity and gusty winds create the perfect mixture for rapid fire spread,” according to the report. “The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor showed widespread areas of unusual dryness, with some counties either in a moderate or severe drought.”
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