NPS Bans BackCountry Campfires In GSMNP

Due to the dry conditions we are currently experiencing and the increased risk for wildfires, the National Park Service is temporarily banning backcountry campfires in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The fire restriction only applies to campers using the park’s 100 backcountry sites and shelters. It does those using fire grills at picnic areas. Fires in developed areas must always be confined to designated fire rings and grills. The NPS asks front country campers to reduce the risk of wildfires by extinguishing fires completely until the ashes are cool to the touch.

The backcountry fire restrictions go into effect6 immediately and will remain in force until further notice.

Crews are still fighting a wildfire in Anderson County that has consumed 210 acres and is now 75% contained.

In Western North Carolina, officials are issuing air quality alerts as wildfires continue burning in Henderson County south of Asheville. A state of emergency has been issued in that area as that fire has now consumed 431 acres and has also destroyed two homes, a cabin and an outbuilding. Officials say 75 other structures are threatened. A burn ban is in place in 14 western North Carolina Counties.

In Tennessee, you have to have a permit to burn, and numerous counties in the state are not issuing burn permits at this time due to the conditions being ripe for wildfires.