Fire Damage Between I40 and Hot Springs?

[Odd Man Out]

Was there much fire damage between I40 and Hot Springs? Considering this section for next year.

[Venchka]

Surely the folks in charge of the AT or National Forests have put fire damage maps online.
CalTopo had the active fires plotted on the fire layers in real time. I'm guessing that was satellite imagery.
Wayne


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[moldy]

What is the story. Curious minds want to know. This is the ATC's responsibility to post a complete report on the state of the trail after the fire. The information posted on the "trail updates" section of The ATC web page is a mess and you can read it 8 ways till Sunday and still not figure it out.

[Lauriep]

We are still waiting for full assessments, but the most significant fire damage has been reported to be in North Carolina between Wesser/Nantahala River south 8 miles to Tellico Gap. This is well south of Hot Springs and the Smokies. There is a total of approximately 30 miles between the NC/GA border and the Nantahala River that was impacted to some degree but we don't have detail yet to share beyond the 8 mile section. We have not yet received details about Georgia, especially in light of the recent Swain Cove fire, when the A.T. was just re-opened less than a week ago. We are erring on the side of caution until we know more.

Hikers should be careful especially when traversing steep burned areas with wooden steps. Also, while in any burned area special attention should be given to overhead hazards - damaged trees and tree limbs could be falling for some time and hikers need to look up for hazards when stopping for lunch, rest, bathroom breaks, etc., and particularly when choosing a spot to camp.

We have just completed some updates to ATC's Trail Updates page at www.appalachiantrail.org/updates. At year's end when many people are out of the office it has been challenging to coordinate and confirm information. We will post additional information as it becomes available.

Laurie P.
ATC