Governor Stein Broadens State of Emergency as State Coordinates Response to Wildfires, Urges Caution in Western North Carolina

(RALEIGH) Today, Governor Stein issued a State of Emergency to expand the state’s capacity to respond to the wildfires burning in western North Carolina. The Governor and Emergency Management Officials are urging North Carolinians to be aware of high fire danger conditions across the state. All residents should pay close attention to local emergency alerts and evacuation notifications.  

"The wildfires in western North Carolina continue to grow, so I have expanded our State of Emergency,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Our State Emergency Response Team is responding with every tool at its disposal. Please stay safe and stay alert for any evacuation orders if the fires spread to an area near you.”

The State Emergency Response Team has been assisting counties with resource and personnel needs since late last week. North Carolina Emergency Management has deployed communications resources, tactical emergency telecommunicators, and incident management personnel to the scene. The North Carolina Forest Service is assisting with incident management and firefighting efforts and the North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal has deployed fire department from across the state to western North Carolina to assist.

The State of Emergency includes the following counties: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Watauga, Wilkes, Yancey, as well as the tribal lands in the State of North Carolina held by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

To stay up to date on evacuation orders, please follow your local government website and social media outlets and enable emergency alerts on your cell phone. You can monitor current fires across the state here. Visit www.readync.gov for information on how you and your family can be prepared for all emergencies and disasters.