A slate of prescribed fires is planned through the end of May on the Cherokee National Forest in southeastern Tennessee, with some smoke impacts possible over the state line in North Carolina. 

Friends of the Cherokee National Forest, a new nonprofit based in Knoxville, aims to become a driving force in preserving one of the region’s most cherished landscapes. 

Residents in the furthest west counties may see smoke over the coming months as the Cherokee National Forest carries out prescribed burns on an estimated 18,500 acres in Monroe and Polk counties, Tennessee, which abut Graham and Cherokee counties in North Carolina.

Indian Boundary Campground in the Cherokee National Forest near Tellico Plains, Tennessee, is now closed due to damage from a flash flood on Aug. 14.

Horse Creek Campground in the Cherokee National Forest near Greeneville, Tennessee, is closed until further notice due to increasing bear encounters.

High winds over the weekend felled trees and downed power lines, sparking a wildfire that covers 950 acres straddling the jurisdictional line between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Swain County. Meanwhile, a fire in the Cherokee National Forest near the state line is burning 180 acres.