Buncombe County drought deepens, wildfire risk remains high
Buncombe County’s drought now touches 238,318 people, and Asheville’s North Fork reservoir sits 8 feet below normal as wildfire danger stays high.
Buncombe County’s drought has reached every corner of the county, affecting an estimated 238,318 people and leaving March as the eighth-driest on record in 132 years. Year-to-date rainfall from January through March ranked as the sixth-driest period on record, more than five inches below normal, a sharp reminder that the dry stretch is now shaping daily life, not just the weather.
The biggest concern remains fire. The North Carolina Forest Service’s statewide open-burning ban, first issued on March 28, stayed in force after being reaffirmed April 14, and it covers open burning and campfires outside developed recreation sites on national forests. Officials said dry fuels, low humidity and gusty winds can still allow flames to ignite and spread quickly, even as fire crews continue to work active blazes elsewhere in western North Carolina, including the Beams Hill brush fire in Avery County, which had burned about 70 acres and was roughly 45 percent contained.
Statewide, the wildfire picture remained active. Preliminary reports on April 20 showed 29 wildfires burned 66.7 acres across North Carolina, a sign that the problem is not confined to one county or one ridgeline. The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council updated its advisory on April 21 and urged drought response actions until further notice.
For homeowners, the drought is already showing up in lawns, gardens and streams, where low rainfall has left soils parched and water levels under strain. Asheville’s North Fork reservoir system, which helps supply about 80 percent of the city’s 160,000 residents along with wholesale customers in Woodfin, Biltmore Forest and Black Mountain, was 8 feet below normal. City water officials said the system remains under close watch, and if the drought deepens, mandatory conservation measures could follow.
That possibility carries extra weight in Asheville, where the water system has already been tested by storm damage tied to Tropical Storm Helene. The city’s Water Resources Department owns and operates three drinking water treatment plants and maintains more than 1,700 miles of water lines, so a reservoir shortage would ripple far beyond the city limits.
A wetter pattern could bring showers and possible thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday, after warm, dry conditions and highs near 80 degrees through Friday. But forecasters say that rain may offer only brief relief unless it arrives in enough volume to change the drought pattern that has already taken hold across Buncombe County.
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