Linville Gorge fire more than doubles in size as firefighters burn fuel

A wildfire in the Linville Gorge wilderness has more than doubled to 1,300 acres, much of it from efforts to burn off fuels that could stoke it.

The U.S. Forest Service said the 160 firefighters at the scene had 20 percent of the fire contained, up from 585 acres and 10 percent containment Monday morning.

The White Creek fire is burning near iconic Shortoff Mountain at the southern end of the gorge in Pisgah National Forest.

The current strategy is to starve the wildfire of the fuels it needs to continue burning. Firefighters are doing that by igniting low-intensity back burns to consume the fuel.

“This fire is in the wilderness, so the firefighters are dealing with limited access due to (steep) terrain and the need to make minimal impacts to wildernesss,” said Forest Service spokeswoman Lisa Jennings.

The wilderness area designation for the gorge means firefighters try to avoid using heavy equipment to control the blaze and remove as little vegetation as possible to contain it, she said.

The fire was reported last Thursday but expanded Friday in dry conditions before a half-inch of rain fell that night.

Linville Gorge has a long history of wildfires. That allowed firefighters to fall back to existing fire lines established in fires from 2013, 2007 and 2000.

No structures are at risk yet, and rain may move into the area Tuesday night. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Linville Gorge fire more than doubles in size as firefighters burn fuel."