A steady rain arrived in Western North Carolina Tuesday, Nov. 21, marking the first precipitation of that magnitude the region has seen in two months — but it won’t be enough to end the wildfire season for good.

For the first time since 2016, Western North Carolina is in the midst of a severe drought coupled with an active fall wildfire season . Research shows that’s right on schedule. 

After months of dry weather, drought is translating into wildfires and burn bans.

A severe drought. A moderate but steady wind that’s coming from the north and very dry. Parched leaves swirling everywhere. 

The Collett Ridge Fire south of Andrews swelled over the weekend, growing from 110 acres Nov. 3 to 2,919 acres Nov. 7 — and still 0% contained. 

Residents in the furthest west counties may see smoke over the coming months as the Cherokee National Forest carries out prescribed burns on an estimated 18,500 acres in Monroe and Polk counties, Tennessee, which abut Graham and Cherokee counties in North Carolina.

Lightning ignited a wildfire in the Linville Gorge Wilderness last week, but humid conditions and rainfall allowed firefighters to take an indirect approach in their response, limiting impact to the wilderness area.

Update: According to Interim Fire Chief Thomas Simmons, the fire's cause has been deterimined to be accidental, due to an appliance left on in the building. The appliance is not yet being named, as the department is waiting for engineers to make a final determination.

Kituwah LLC CEO Mark Hubble was just going back to sleep after a night in the emergency room when his phone rang. The headquarters for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ multi-million-dollar business arm was on fire.

The Kituwah LLC building has been destroyed in a fire that started during the early morning hours of Thursday, Dec. 15.

High winds over the weekend felled trees and downed power lines, sparking a wildfire that now covers 950 acres straddling the jurisdictional line between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Swain County. Meanwhile, a fire in the Cherokee National Forest near the state line is now burning 180 acres.