BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — The fall fire season is just weeks away, and people are praying they don’t see a repeat of last year’s wildfires.
One of the hardest hit areas in 2016 was South Mountain State Park in Burke County. Last year’s extreme drought conditions led to more than 6,000 acres burning in the park.
Eyewitness News reporter Dave Faherty was there when the park burned last year and visited it today to explore the impact of recent dry weather.
The dry spell of the past couple of weeks is already affecting areas of the park. The Jacobs Fork River is down, and the High Shoals Waterfall is lacking its usual grandeur.
"I really expected a whole lot more water,” said Holly Starnes, a visitor to the park. “It's usually bigger and more magnificent."
"The past couple of weeks since Irma, it has been really dry," said visitor Tom Mennillo.
It was extremely dry conditions – caused by 8 weeks without rainfall – that caused a wildfire to quickly spread throughout the park last fall.
[PHOTOS: Last year's wildfires in South Mountain State Park]
"We found it late one night and were under the assumption that we would catch it in the morning,” said Jonathan Griffith, South Mountain State Park Superintendent. “Worked all morning and it got progressively worse because of the historic drought conditions."
Griffith says the South Mountains have recovered, but some areas of the park still show signs of last year’s massive fire.
Park officials believe the fire was started by a visitor, but they don't know if it was intentional.
Griffith said the fire went on for a month, but the park was kept closed for a second month so damaged trees at risk of falling on visitors could be cut down.
Angel Mort lives near the park’s entrance, and like many in the area, is hoping for rain this fall. But she’s ready to use a bulldozer to cut a fire line around her home if necessary.
"It was horrible with all the smoke and everything,” Mort says, recalling last year’s fires. “It is not something that we have forgotten at all. The lack of rain is a worry for us."
Read more about last year's wildfires on wsoctv.com: