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Black Mountain fire chief calls for aggressive enforcement, community action ahead of wildfire season
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Summary
Fire Chief John Coffey told the Town Council that Black Mountain faces elevated wildfire risk after Hurricane Helene and urged stronger code enforcement, public education and tactical readiness including a town “Fire Ready” campaign and neighborhood ambassadors.
Fire Chief John Coffey told the Black Mountain Town Council on Aug. 11 that the approaching wildfire season presents a "serious and escalating threat" to the town and that "the time to act is now." He briefed council members on maps and local conditions showing steep terrain, dense tree cover and downed timber from Hurricane Helene that have increased fuels and complicated evacuation and emergency response.
Coffey said the town sits in a wildland–urban interface where narrow roads and uphill fire behavior raise risks to structures. He described three pillars for reducing that risk: enforcing the fire code, public education and improving tactical readiness. "Prevention is the most powerful tool that we have," Coffey said, urging residents to clear gutters, trim trees and create defensible space.
The chief said the North Carolina Forest Service and U.S. Forest Service flagged the region after Helene for elevated concern because large tracts of damaged, now-seasoned timber act like "essentially a tinder box." He told council there are about 4,981 residential and 354 commercial properties in the town within the moderate-risk mapping used by one national risk tracker, and that landscaping choices and vegetation close to homes are major contributors to that risk.
Why this matters: Coffey framed the hazard as both immediate and expanding with climate-driven longer, hotter summers and erratic rainfall. He said ignition sources — power poles, tools, cigarettes, or lightning — could produce fires that outpace local suppression in minutes under certain conditions, stressing the need for both behavior change and municipal action.
Details and next steps: Coffey proposed a local "Black Mountain Fire Ready" campaign and said the fire department will increase community outreach, offer home risk assessments, coordinate community cleanup events and work with homeowners associations. He recommended enforcement of debris clearance, limits on open burning inside municipal limits and greater coordination with public works, police and planning to clear hazardous storm debris from public lands and integrate defensible-space guidance into permit and building communications.
Jessica Trotter, the town's assistant town manager, told council staff will support cross-departmental work and amplify the fire department's message using town channels, CodeRED alerts and outreach through HOAs and the new CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). Trotter said the town is working to shift CodeRED from an opt-in to an opt-out model to reach more residents quickly during emergencies.
Residents and council reaction: Council members and staff discussed leveraging the CERT volunteers and other community champions to do door-to-door outreach in higher-risk neighborhoods and to assist vulnerable residents with debris removal. Coffey said tactical resources are thin and that prevention must be the first line of defense.
Ending note: Coffey closed by urging residents to sign up for emergency alerts and to prepare evacuation plans, saying community-wide action will be necessary to reduce the chances of a damaging wildfire this season.
