Crews, property owners work to protect structures as western NC wildfires grow

POLK COUNTY, N.C. -- On Monday night, a smoky haze rests over the Green River Gorge; the Deep Woods fire is 0% contained. More than 2,700 acres have burned.

Hundreds of feet below on Green River Cove Road, crews were hard at work at hazard mitigation, cutting snags. Snags, in plain English, are old dead trees. They are being removed before a burnout operation so flying embers can't cross their fire-lines.

A few miles east, Esther Albert sprayed down her short-term rental along Holbert Cove Road.

"It's just a few hundred yards off," Albert said. "The hope is that we eliminate as much of the fuel for the fire as possible and that, hopefully, it doesn't take the buildings. It becomes a part of you, even when it is a business. You grow to love a space."

Albert has already moved the leaves away from the home. A short hike behind her house, fire crews put in dozer lines to stop the potential spread of fire.

"It's everyone helping everyone else, and what else can we do," Albert said. "If we can keep the fire at bay, it helps everyone else around us, as well."

FIRE DATA (updated 6:45 p.m. Monday)

Fish Hook Fire (Lake Adger): 199 acres, 65% containment
Deep Woods Fire: 2,742 acres, 0% containment
Black Cove Fire: 2,813 acres, 0% containment