On the morning of Sept. 27, as rain fell steadily from the pre-dawn sky, Travis Donaldson took a drive around the eastern end of Haywood County. Donaldson, the county’s emergency services director, made a lap around all the appropriate areas, finishing up in Cruso with the intention of turning around and heading back toward Waynesville, where an emergency operations center had already been set up. 

A rare public impasse by Council Members over the Town of Waynesville’s proposed budget will leave things unsettled for the time being, foreshadowing prolonged negotiations over an all-but-certain tax increase. 

The towns of Sylva, Webster, Cullowhee and Cashiers are all connected by five lanes of chaos, better known as N.C. 107. 

Fire crews responded to three structure fires in Macon County over a 24-hour period. 

Despite an uptick in precipitation and humidity levels, the region is still facing the worst drought conditions  since 2017, with renewed fire activity over the past week. 

Burn bans have been lifted and wildfires contained after steady rains Tuesday, Nov. 21, put a pause in a relentless drought that has been growing since an abnormally dry weather pattern emerged in September. 

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.