Swain County officials report two wildfires, Army Corps to assist with private-property debris removal

Swain County emergency management officials told the Board of Commissioners on May 6 that two recent wildfires burned a combined roughly 2,134 acres but caused no deaths and only limited structural damage, and that federal assistance is arriving.

The Emergency Management director (name not stated at the meeting) said the Alarka Fire burned about 1,575 acres and damaged one structure; the Sam Davis Road Fire burned about 559 acres. "We had a total of 1,575 acres, that burned in that fire. We had 1 structure damaged, no injuries, and no deaths," the director said. County staff said mutual aid and county agencies — emergency management, health, DSS, maintenance, EMS, rescue, three fire departments and the sheriff's office — responded.

Why it matters: county officials said keeping local flood- and fire-related ordinances and maps current is tied to eligibility for federal recovery funds. The Emergency Management director said the county received a fire management assistance grant and that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would be in the area "approximately for the next 60 days" to do private-property debris assessments and, where eligible, removal and outreach.

In discussion with commissioners, staff said the FMAG (fire management assistance grant) will help cover equipment, materials and county costs associated with fighting the fires. The director also described recent state and regional emergency-management meetings that emphasized flood resilience, incident management teams for search-and-rescue and rising heat hazards for outdoor workers and older residents.

Commissioners and members of the public asked whether cause investigations were complete. The Emergency Management director said both fires remain under investigation by the North Carolina Forest Service and the county does not yet have determinations on cause or potential cost recovery. "Both of those fires are still under investigation. So the North Carolina Forest Service is still…" the director said.

County staff told the board there will be additional outreach and a public comment period when new floodplain maps are adopted by the state; staff said about 10 properties in Swain County moved into the floodplain and about 10 moved out under preliminary map changes. The director said the map updates are expected to be adopted at the state level in the fall, followed by a local public-comment period and a new effective map early next year.

Public safety and recovery work described at the meeting included dispatch and 911 workload data, volunteer and paid responder staffing shortfalls and plans to use federal grant funds to offset costs from the fires. The board heard that several county divisions — emergency management, EMS, rescue, fire departments and others — participated in the response and that county staff will continue coordinating with the Army Corps during the debris-assessment period.

The meeting did not record a new county policy or a final determination of cause for either fire; staff repeatedly said investigations are ongoing and that Army Corps work will focus first on private‑property debris requests and outreach.