Seven years since deadly Tennessee wildfires

VIDEO: Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 marks seven years since the wildfires spread through parts of Sevier County, Tenn., resulting in more than a dozen lives lost and thousands of hours in recovery and repair, as well as lifelong remembrance. “I’m not sure if November 28, 2016, seems like yesterday or a lifetime ago. Today is the 7-year anniversary of the 2016 Gatlinburg and Sevier County Wildfires that took the lives of 14 people, destroyed over 2,000 structures, disrupted the lives of thousands of people, and forever etched into our memory a time of sorrow and difficulties,” Bryan McCarter, Sevier County vice mayor, stated in a social media post on Tuesday morning.
WATE-TV ABC 6 Knoxville

Green Mountain Fire reported in Montana

PHOTO: A wildfire was reported late Monday south of Big Timber. The Sweet Grass County Sheriff's Office said on social media that residents in the area of East Boulder Road should monitor the situation, but no evacuations were immediately ordered. The Sweet Grass County Sheriff's Office provided this update Tuesday morning: "Update on the Green Mountain Fire south of Big Timber Montana: Last evening, the Sweetgrass County dispatch received a report of a fire at 8:00 p.m. near Green Mountain. The fire was located near the intersection of the East Boulder Road and the Main Boulder road. Firefighters responded as well as the Sweetgrass County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office notified individuals in the area. Special thanks goes out to the assisting fire agencies: Columbus Rural fire, Park County Rural fire, DNRC, BLM and the US Forest Service."
KTVQ-TV CBS/CW+ 2 Billings

Matts Creek Fire in central Virginia fully contained after burning 11,000 acres

The end is finally here for crews battling the Matts Creek Wildfire. For over two weeks, the blaze burning in the Jefferson National Forest has required hundreds of personnel to work on the fire, which has burned over 11,000 acres. On Monday, the U.S. Forest Service said the fire has finally been 100% contained and Petite's Gap Road has been opened. The rest of the fire area will be opened to the public at 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to the forest service. However, hikers reentering the burned area should watch for fire-weakened trees and unstable, burned ground, especially in wet or windy areas. Command of the fire was to be handed off at 6 p.m. Monday evening to a smaller Type 4 Incident Management Team, which will continue to conduct fire repair operations on the interior of the burned area, the U.S. Forest Service said in an afternoon update.
WSET-TV ABC 13 Lynchburg

Crews hope to have Matts Creek Fire in central Virginia fully contained today

PHOTOS: The end is finally in sight for crews battling the Matts Creek Wildfire. For over two weeks, the blaze burning in the Jefferson National Forest has required hundreds of personnel working on the fire, which has burned 11,000 acres. But on Monday, the US Forest Service said the fire may finally be fully contained by the end of the day. "The fire is expected to be fully contained by dark today, with repair work left to do in burned areas deepest in the James River Face Wilderness," the US Forest Service said in a morning update. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, with 82 people currently working the fire, officials said. Those personnel are made up of nationally available crews who work fires in any state at any time of the year. For the Matts Creek Wildfire's fighters, that meant missing Thanksgiving at home.
WSET-TV ABC 13 Lynchburg

North Carolina wildfire 79% contained and 805 acres, personnel continue mopping operations

Officials with the North Carolina Forest Service said they are continuing mop-up operations as containment numbers grow. On Sunday, after more accurate mapping, officials confirmed the fire is now 79% contained and 805 acres in size. Officials at the mountain said the objective is to mop up along the containment lines around the fire until a 100-foot area into the fire's interior is cold and black. The mop-up tactic is applied after a fire's progression has stopped, and the containment grows. During the operations, the crew said they look for hot spots near the containment lines by using hand tools to dig through the burned areas. Officials said the process is necessary because steep lands can make it harder for brush trucks and water tenders, making water delivery difficult. Once crews dig out hot spots, they are exposing the areas to humidity.
WXII-TV NBC 12 Winston-Salem

Sage Fire in Southern California revised from 83 to 39 acres

As fire crews continued to battle the Sage Fire in Jamul on Sunday, authorities revised the acreage burned from 83 to 39 and attributed the earlier figure to pilot error. "It was Friday night at 8 p.m. when we turned it over (the fire) to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services. At that time, the fire was 75% contained at 39 acres. The 83 acres from the Intel from the aircraft was an error,'' Cal Fire PIO Captain Brent Pascua told City News Service on Sunday. The blaze was first reported at about 1:50 p.m. Thursday at Highway 94 and Vista Sage Lane, according to Cal Fire San Diego. Some evacuations were ordered as the flames spread, but fire crews were quickly able to slow the blaze and the orders were lifted by Thursday evening. No injuries or structural damage were reported.
KGTV ABC 10 San Diego