MORGANTON, N.C. — The wildfire burning at Dobson Knob in McDowell County is growing in size. As of Thursday, the fire is burning on 1,405 acres, officials said.
The fire is located on the north side of Dobson Knob near the North Cove Community, north of Marion, North Carolina, along Highway 221. Smoke and haze has been visible in communities such as North Cove, Woodlawn and Linville Falls.
A code orange air quality alert is in effect for Morganton.
:quality(70)/mediaweb.wsoctv.com/photo/2017/04/12/orangealert_20170412193908681_7767203_ver1.0_320_180.jpg)
A cold front is moving through the area. It won’t bring rain but will affect the wind direction.
"We could see the smoke in the air, and you could smell it,” resident Charles Aldridge said.
The wind will bring more smoke concerns to Morganton and Burke County.
Officials are encouraging residents to stay indoors, especially if they have asthma.
A north wind will bring dry air that will hamper firefighters’ efforts.
Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:
- WATCH: Man dragged from United Airlines flight
- Witness helped identify suspects in deadly triple shooting at Hickory pub
- 2 teens arrested in slaying of police officer's son to face judge
- FIREBALL: Viewers spot meteor streaking across night sky
- VIDEO: Christine Rapp's Thursday morning forecast
- New video shows moments before passenger was dragged off plane
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/SWNKG6TR5ZDIFJHRE3MIO7Y6QE.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/BNWKUHI6LZBNXKOWYHF4HF55PA.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/73JDSUHHDZGOVDSQ4LMCOHE75Q.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/QNTNKF26Q5AOFGDVRSNPJM3FZE.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/SNLWZBPQR5E3PDESM2GSZKRN3Y.jpeg)