Wayah Bald After the Camp Branch Fire

Macon Media and The Franklin Press were given the opportunity to visit the Wayah Bald Fire Tower on the afternoon of Monday, November 28th and view the aftermath of the Camp Branch Fire and observe conditions along the Wayah Bald Road and Wayah Road. The images, sounds and video collected during that visit are posted here. An article by Tim Reaves will appear in The Wednesday, November 30, 2016 issue of The Franklin Press with his observations...

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Morning Updates for 11-29-2016

So much for the rain bringing a quiet end to all this constant state of emergency and hazardous conditions. High winds last night blew transformers, knocked down trees and started a couple of wildfires near Harold Ledford Road near Otto and in Cullasaja that were quickly brought under control by local volunteer firefighters, members of the NC Forest Service and the US Forest Service. The local forecast shows that we are due a period of rain,...

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Helicopter Flies Infrared Mapping Mission of Camp Branch Fire

A helicopter takes off from the Macon County Airport to employ infrared sensors in mapping the Camp Branch Fire. This data, once interpreted, placed on maps and handed off to command staff and mission planners allows them to accurately locate hotspots and fire perimeters. These men and women can then plan the next day's firefighting activities with input from meteorologists and fire behavior experts.. ...

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Nantahala Branch Wildfires Update Afternoon of Nov 25, 2016

Here is the afternoon update from the Command Post in Franklin, detailing the Camp Branch and Tellico Fire Operations for today. Incident Resources (for the Nantahala ICP) 10 crews, 39 engines, 7 helicopters, 2 tankers, 11 dozers, 7 water tender, 1 skidgine, 631 total personnel, 34,619 total acres Initial Attack Yesterday, on the three districts of the Nantahala National Forest that the Blue Team has initial-attack responsibility for-Cheoah,...

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Rock Mountain Fire Information Meeting in Otto November 22, 2016

The Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 3 (PNW-3) held a Fire information meeting last night in the Otto Community Building. The meeting was standing room only as residents heard from the team managing the Rock Mountain Fire and representatives from other cooperating agencies. The video, closures that are in effect and some fire states are posted below. Rock Mountain Fire Stats 16,698 acres 30% contained Between 450 and 500...

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Fire Information Meeting in Rabun County Monday, November 21, 2016

Beginning at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning November 22, the following roads will be closed for public and firefighter safety: • Patterson Gap Road from Betty’s Creek Road to Poplar gap (USFS road) • Betty’s Creek Road from Patterson Gap to the North Carolina state line (Rabun County) • Mulberry from the North Carolina state line to Pagonia Drive/Beasley Gap (Macon County) Residents of Rabun and Macon Counties attended an informational meeting...

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Macon County Emergency Management Press Release on Rock Mountain Fire

Press Release For Immediate Release Macon County Emergency Services November 21, 2016 Warren Cabe, Director Extreme fire conditions will continue to push the Rock Mountain Fire into portions of southern Macon County over the next several days. The fire is now over 12,779 acres. Smoke and flames will be visible from various portions of Macon County, especially the Otto Community, through the end of the week. Crews will be in the area evaluating...

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Cartoogechaye Elementary Students Express Thanks to Firefighters

This just in from the Macon County School System: Ms. Sheila McClure, teacher assistant at Cartoogechaye Elementary School, began a great community service act for the firefighters. She asked students at Cartoogechaye to write thank you letters to the fireman. So far, Ms. McClure has taken 100 thank you letters that have been placed in the firefighters' lunch sacks as well as 76 letters for the firefighters to mail home to their families. The...

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Dry Falls Over the Years

Dry Falls has been one of my favorite subjects to shoot and one I don't get to shoot enough. Over the past few months, our region has been  experiencing a dry spell for rain and we're under drought conditions complete with wildfires. People have remarked the current waterflow at the waterfall is the lowest they've seen. Here is a collection of videos taken over the years to remind us of the differing conditions at the local landmark: July...

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Daily Weather Briefing for Macon County Sunday, November 20, 2016

**MACON COUNTY WEATHER BRIEFING FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2016** *note* This is the new format of the weather briefing until the wildfires have been brought under control. OVERVIEW Dry northwest winds will persist across the region today as cooler air spills into the area. Dry high pressure will steadily build east into the region through Tuesday. Another fast moving cold front will cross the area Wednesday night bringing us less than a tenth...

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Rock Mountain Fire 11-19-2016 AM Briefing

The Rock Mountain Fire to our south is mostly in Rabun County and has extended into Towns, Clay and a tiny portion of Macon County. The maps below will show the exact location of the fire as mapped by the USFS on the afternoon of November 18th, 2016 and include other data such as statistics and radio frequencies that the public can plug into their radio scanners to monitor the operation as it happens. Due to the terrain and distance, reception...

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