Most of the Shining Rock Wilderness area of Pisgah National Forest has reopened to the public after being closed when a wildfire started burning at the summit of Cold Mountain Thursday, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Adrianne Rubiaco.
The area now open includes the popular Art Loeb Trail. But the area east of Deep Gap, which includes the Cold Mountain Summit Trail/No. 141, will remain closed.
Despite bouts of rain that fell in Haywood County over the weekend, the Cold Mountain Fire continues to burn, Rubiaco said.
“But the fire has not grown, and has stayed at approximately 220 acres. That increase from previous reports is due to more accurate mapping,” she said, which was determined after aerial reconnaissance Monday.