Thursday, October 1, 2026
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North Carolina (WNN) - It is no surprise that a burn ban has been in place, as it has been in effect since late March 2026. Despite the ban, today has seen a local ramp-up in large fires with several happening statewide. The past five days have seen 139 fires of varying status reported by the NC Forest Service as of 1 PM April 24, 2026. A large portion, including two active fires, is happening on the eastern half of the state between Fayetteville and Wilmington. Despite smoke from these fires, the state's overall air quality remains good to moderate.
The majority of burning acreage in NC consists of two large uncontained fires in the eastern portion of the state. Out of the 1720 acres burning in the state these two make up 1009 acres. The largest one is a grass fire near Rosindale, NC that is currently 748 acres in size which is roughly 80% contained. This fire was originally found on April 8th, 2026 with ongoing efforts to let it burn out. The next fire is 261 acres and located at the Whitehall Plantation. Unlike the Rosindale fire, this one has been determined to have been caused by people and is only 30% contained. It was found five days earlier on April 3rd, 2026. Outside of these major fires, the area between Lumbereton and Fayetteville is currently a hotspot for wildfires, despite most being contained.
While Gaston County has stayed out of trouble so far, Catawba and Avery Counties are beginning to see an uptick in fires. On April 22nd, a large wildfire began east of Spruce Pine, which has grown to at least 70 acres as fire crews work on containment. While responders in Avery County deal with this, the Catawba County Landfill located in Newton caught fire. This was quickly responded to and contained to suppress the thick black smoke. During this emergency, several other locations were reported to be going up, such as Bob’s Pallets, and some of the woods near it also caught fire. These sorts of conditions can leave responders stretched thin, making it more likely that minor fires will escalate. This is why it is imperative that guidelines are followed at this time.
According to news source WRAL their have been 244 citations issued since the beginning of the ban. Nearly half of these have been issued in the past week. While some steps, such as simply lighting campfires or burning yard debris, are easy to recognize as dangerous, other manmade fire sources are easy to overlook. Some of these are actions like improper disposal of cigarettes, leaving charcoal briquettes burning and unattended, or using equipment like chainsaws without spark arrestors. In the first two cases it it is imperative that the sources are fully doused or ground out before being left unattended. To read more on what steps you can take to not be the next citation, read the NC Forest Service Guidelines here.
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