Firefighters continue to make progress on several wildfires burning across Western North Carolina. To date, Forest Service officials say more than 700 fires have burned statewide.
Here's a rundown of the status of current fires across the mountains, as of Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023:
The Poplar Drive Fire in Henderson County is now 98% contained and remains 434 acres. One home, two cabins, one uninhabitable mobile home, one uninhabitable cabin and two outbuildings were destroyed. One home was damaged. Firefighters continue to reinforce containment lines and target any smoldering pockets that remain. The wildfire started Friday, Nov. 3. "The cause of the wildfire has been determined to be a debris burn that occurred on private property Thursday, Oct. 26., eight days earlier," the N.C. Forest Service said in a press release Thursday.