Wildfires force students & staff to evacuate, cancel sports

Wildfires began spreading across Western North Carolina and parts of South Carolina in mid-March, and evacuation alerts were sent out for residents of homes near the state line.

Several counties, including Transylvania, declared states of emergency, and burn bans were in effect. Some bus routes in the country also had to be changed.

Due to smoke mostly from the Party Rock Fire approaching the state line from South Carolina, air quality decreased significantly, disrupting sports and other activities at Brevard High and other schools.

For two days, students at BHS weren’t allowed to practice outdoors or eat lunch in the courtyard.

“Softball practice got canceled; it was annoying because we have a big conference game the next day,” said Sarayd Dugan.

“The smoke is so irritating, it’s clogging up my ears, it’s making me so overstimulated,” added Keargan Mitchell.

A photo shared by the Transylvania County Rescue Squad on its Facebook page April 1. The squad helped with the Table Rock Fire response.

It wasn’t just smoke, though; some students were in fear of being evacuated. Broadcaster staff member Olivia Hankey was one of those students.

“There’s ash falling from the sky, it looks like snowflakes. I have my bag packed and it’s by the door just in case. We’re watching the fires closely, it’s an anxious experience,” she said.

TJ Jordon was unfortunately evacuated.

“I got evacuated Tuesday; they called my mom, and we had to leave. We packed clothes, pictures, and the dogs. We ended up going to my Aunt’s in Brevard,” he said. He was able to return home nearly a week later.

A large airtanker, a Neptune BAe-146, releases fire suppressant over a wildfire in late March. LATs deliver 2,000 to 4,000 gallons of fire suppressant, the N.C. Forest Service said in a Facebook post with the photo March 31. Photo by Weston Vandenabeele, N.C. Forest Service

“I was evacuated Wednesday,” said Benjamin Kessinger, who has since returned home. “The police came through knocking on doors, we had everything packed up and were ready. We went to a friend’s house, where we are staying now.”

As of April 2, nearly all of the students and staff who had been evacuated had returned to their homes, Principal Mick Galloway said, as the wildfires, although still burning, had been dampened by rain and were better contained by firefighters.

Nighttime photo of the Black Cove Fire posted March 31 by the N.C. Forest Service on its Facebook page. The fire was 3,500 acres in size and 35 percent contained at the time of the post.