Wildfire, Rutherford Mountains
- When
- February 12, 12:00 AM EST to February 20, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rutherford Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- County Official
- Coordinates
- 35.402, -81.920 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in North Carolina, February 12 to 20, 2011
A wildfire that began in the Chimney Rock State Park area on the 12th quickly spread during a period of windy and very dry conditions. The fire burned almost 1500 acres near the Polk and Rutherford County line south of Chimney Rock before being contained on the 20th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
A wildfire that began in the Chimney Rock State Park area on the 12th quickly spread during a period of windy and very dry conditions. The fire burned almost 1500 acres near the Polk and Rutherford County line south of Chimney Rock before being contained on the 20th.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 11, 9:38 PM EST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 11, 9:38 PM EST, 2 hours 22 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 938 PM EST FRI FEB 11 2011 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE NORTHERN GULF COAST THROUGH THE WEEKEND...BEFORE A WEAK COLD FRONT CROSSES THE REGION FROM THE NORTHWEST MONDAY MORNING. HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN RETURN AND BECOME THE DOMINANT WEATHER FEATURE THROUGH LATE NEXT WEEK WITH A WARMING TREND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/... NOT MUCH TO CHANGE WITH THE GOING FCST. BASICALLY TWEAKS FOR CURRENT CONDITIONS. THE RELATIVELY TRANQUIL WEATHER WILL CONTINUE OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 24 HOURS. STRATOCU TRAPPED UNDERNEATH A STRONG SUBSIDENCE INVERSION HAS SCATTERED OUT WITH THE LOSS OF HEATING. A SHORT WAVE UPPER TROUGH WILL MOVE QUICKLY ACROSS THE REGION LATE TONIGHT BUT WILL BE MOSTLY STARVED OF MOISTURE. THERE COULD BE SOME MID CLOUD BRUSHING THE NRN CWFA THOUGH. THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT NOTICEABLE AFFECT WILL BE AN INCREASE IN GUSTINESS IN THE MORNING AFTER THAT FEATURE MOVES THROUGH. HIGH PRESSURE ANCHORED OVER THE SRN PLAINS WILL CONTINUE TO RIDGE ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. TEMPS WERE NUDGED TOWARD A GUIDANCE BLEND. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... AS OF 130 PM FRIDAY...LITTLE CHANGE NEEDED TO FCST...AS DRY NWLY FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES THRU THE PERIOD...WITH A GRADUALLY FLATTEN OF ERN CONUS TROF AND RISING HEIGHTS EXPECTED. AN ALBERTA CLIPPER WILL MOVE INTO THE WRN GREAT LAKES REGION BY SUNDAY NIGHT...WHILE SFC RIDGING WORKS INTO THE FA AND UP THE ERN SEABOARD AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM. DEEP NWLY FLOW BACKS TO MORE DUE WLY ON SUNDAY...WITH SWLY SFC WNDS IN LEE TROF. THIS SETUP WILL SUPPORT TEMPS IN THE 50S MTNS AND LWR-MID 60S PIEDMONT UNDER SUNNY SKIES. DRY AIR MASS WILL ALLOW FOR TEMPS TO DROP INTO THE 20S MTNS AND MAINLY MID 30S PIEDMONT SUN NGT. ON MONDAY...A DRY COLD FRONT/SFC TROF CROSSES THE FA...WITH ONLY A WIND SHIFT AND MARGINALLY DEEPER MIXING EXPECTED IN ITS WAKE. THICKNESSES STAY ABOUT THE SAME...SO DOWNSLOPE MAY HELP TEMPS WARM A CATEGORY OR TWO HIGHER THAN SUNDAY EAST OF THE MTNS...SIMILAR TEMPS IN THE MTNS. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... AS OF 210 PM FRIDAY...THE GLOBAL MODELS CONTINUE TO DEPICT A SIGNIFICANT PATTERN CHANGE DURING THE MEDIUM RANGE...FROM AN EASTERN TROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK...TO A SOUTHEAST RIDGE BY THE END OF THE PERIOD. THIS MEANS THAT TEMPERATURES WILL BE THE MAIN STORY OF THE EXTENDED...AS TEMPS SHOULD BE WELL ABOVE NORMAL (PERHAPS PUSHING 70 IN SOME AREAS) BY DAY 7. MOISTURE WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE IN THE LOWER LEVELS LATE IN THE PERIOD...AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTS OFF THE EAST COAST...AND MUCH OF THE EASTERN CONUS FINDS ITSELF WITHIN THE BROAD WARM SECTOR AHEAD OF A PLAINS/MIDWEST FRONTAL SYSTEM. THE GFS IS RESPONDING WITH SOME VERY LIGHT QPF IN THE RELATIVELY MOIST SW FLOW OVER THE CWFA LATE IN THE WEEK. HOWEVER... THIS SEEMS SOMEWHAT DUBIOUS ATTM...SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO FEATURE A DRY FORECAST. && .AVIATION /03Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... AT KCLT AND ELSEWHERE...STRATOCU DECK FANNING OUT UNDERNEATH A STRONG SUBSIDENCE INVERSION IS FINALLY DISSIPATING WITH LOSS OF HEATING. SOME OF THE CLOUDS WILL LINGER THIS EVENING THEN MOVE EAST OVERNIGHT. WINDS HAVE GONE SW EAST OF THE WEAK LEE TROF BUT REMAIN W TO N WEST OF THE TROF. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO GO W TO NW OVERNIGHT BUT REMAIN LIGHT AS THE TROF WEAKENS. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO WSW DURING THE AFTERNOON...XCPT NNW AT KAVL AND WNW AT KHKY... WITH LEE TROF STRENGTHENING AGAIN. EXPECT LOW END GUSTS AT KAVL WITH GUSTS POSSIBLE AT KHKY/KCLT. SOME STRATOCU RETURN TO THE AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON...BUT SHOULD HAVE MUCH LESS COVERAGE THAN FRI AFTERNOON. OUTLOOK...HIGH PRESSURE WITH VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. A DRY COLD FRONT WILL REINFORCE HIGH PRESSURE MONDAY INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK WITH MORE VFR CONDITIONS. && .FIRE WEATHER... AFTERNOON MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL BE AROUND 20 PERCENT ON SATURDAY WITH LOCALLY BREEZY CONDITIONS DEVELOPING. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...SBK NEAR TERM...PM/RWH SHORT TERM...ARK LONG TERM...JDL AVIATION...RWH FIRE WEATHER...
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 11, 5:09 AM EST, 18 hours 51 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 509 AM EST FRI FEB 11 2011 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065- 068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-121015- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-AVERY-ALEXANDER- IREDELL-DAVIE-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-BUNCOMBE-CATAWBA- ROWAN-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA- HENDERSON-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC- CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE- MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-EASTERN MCDOWELL-RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS- GREATER RUTHERFORD-POLK MOUNTAINS-EASTERN POLK-OCONEE MOUNTAINS- PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS-GREATER OCONEE- GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-CHEROKEE-YORK- ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 509 AM EST FRI FEB 11 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Wildfire, Polk Mountains
- When
- February 12, 12:00 AM EST to February 20, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Polk Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- County Official
- Coordinates
- 35.279, -82.170 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Wildfire and High Wind in Washington, February 12, 2011
- High Wind in Montana, February 12 to 13, 2011
- High Wind in Montana, February 12 to 14, 2011
- Strong Wind in Idaho, February 12 to 13, 2011
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, February 12 to 15, 2011
- High Wind in Oregon, February 12, 2011
- High Wind in West Virginia, February 12, 2011
- Heavy Snow in Washington, February 12 to 13, 2011
- High Wind in Washington, February 12, 2011
- High Wind in Washington, February 12, 2011
- High Wind in Washington, February 12, 2011
- High Wind in Oregon, February 12, 2011
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, February 2011
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 285708, 285709.