Tweed Fire Update

All three wildfires burning in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee are all growing in size. That includes the so called “Tweed” fire burning in Cocke and Greene Counties. That fire, north of Del Rio, grew over the weekend to 300 acres as of Sunday afternoon. The National Forest Service says that fire is only 10% contained. Crews on Sunday were conducting tactical firing operations off Yellow Springs Meadow Creek Trail to reduce available fuel for that fire. An air tanker has been brought in to assist firefighters with fire retardant drops. The forest service says the cause of that fire is under investigation as human cause is suspected in that fire.

Little has changed with the Buck Bald Fire in Polk County. That now 540-acre wildfire remains 60 percent contained. The Bullet Fire, is now at 103-acres and continues to be 20 percent contained. The fire is burning in steep inaccessible terrain and fire crews are using indirect tactics to control the spread of that fire.

In North Carolina, the fire south of Sylva in Jackson County is 100% contained. The fire in Henderson County south of Asheville is now at 70% containment. However, the large fire in Cherokee County that brought smoke to our area last week is now over 5,000 acres and is only 10% contained.