The County Line brush fire was 90 percent contained by Friday afternoon, according to Avery County Emergency Management.
A brush fire was announced last Wednesday afternoon and all through-traffic was blocked on U.S. Highway 19E around the Mitchell-Avery County line. The fire came to involve 76 acres of forest.
A majority of local fire departments responded to the fire, along with outside agencies. Spotter planes were brought in to keep an eye on the spread of the fire and two heli-copters came to carry in giant buckets of water. Authorities initiated a no-fly zone over the fire to allow the air support to operated unimpeded. It is against the law to fly aircraft — including small drones — over an active forest fire.
At the height of the fire, those responding included:
- NC Forestry Service
- Mitchell County fire departments
- Avery County fire departments
- Emergency medical services
- Linville Rescue
- Spotter planes
- Two helicopters actively conducting water drops
By 9:45 p.m. last Wednesday evening, Highway 19E had been reopened. By Thursday, Emergency Management officials were able to say that all homes in the area were protected.
The fire reportedly may have started from sparks from a vehicle that was dragging a part — an exhaust pipe or something similar — on the pavement on 19E.