Nantahala

A wildfire in the Nantahala National Forest continues to burn without any containment over a week after a lightning strike first sparked it Oct. 23, officials say. A total of 55 personnel from the U.S. Forest Service and North Carolina Forest Service are working the fire, which burns at 90 acres as of Oct. 31, according to a U.S. Forest Service news release. The fire has been mostly growing to the west and northwest toward Flat Branch and Collett Creek. There has been no containment due to “rugged terrain and limited accessibility,” the U.S. Forest Service said in a social media post. On Oct. 29, fire behavior “remained minimal with some smoldering and creeping,” the Oct. 30 news release said. Due to dry fuels on the floor such as leaves, smoke was visible from U.S. 74. A cold front arrived over the fire Oct. 30, “bringing partly cloudy skies, low temperatures, precipitation, and higher humidity, which will decrease fire behav...