The wildfire, named the Crooked Creek Fire, ignited near the town of Old Fort, which was impacted by Hurricane Helene last September.

“There are blue precincts that are getting bluer by the minute, red precincts that are getting redder by the minute and an incredibly small number that cross over between the two,” Cooper said.

The fate of the settlers who founded the "Lost Colony of Roanoke" in what is now North Carolina remains unknown.

In Asheville, Hot Springs and other towns that cater to hikers, many restaurants, hotels and Airbnb’s have reopened. Road ...