Four of the fires are burning near the edge of Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness area in the northwest part of Graham County. On Wednesday, two fires Maple Springs and Sweetwater were contained, but four more fires began. Of the new fires, firefighters contained two and are still fighting the other two. One of the new fires, Big Roughy, is 150 acres of both national forest and private land. The North Carolina Division of Forest Resources is battling the fire on private land.
Firefighters are from all over the country and include some of the best.
Several crews are out of Arizona and New Mexico. North Carolina crews include the Cheoah Ranger District firefighters and crews from the Schenck and LBJ Jobs Corps Centers. Three helicopters assisted the effort by dropping water on the fire. The fires are human-caused. Arson is a possibility.