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Federal officials say two wildfires spreading in western North Carolina have burned more than 2 square miles of wooded area. The larger fire in the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness Area near Robbinsville has burned about 800 acres and was 0% contained on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service says increased fire danger could affect portions of central North Carolina and the western Piedmont.

The NC Forest Service has been responding to hundreds of wildfires across the state. The agency wants residents to stop flying unmanned aircrafts over wildfires.

A career archaeologist with the U.S. Forest Service says managers have been engaging in irresponsible and illegal behavior that has resulted in damage to Native American sites across the forested slopes of North Carolina.

Officials say it could be a decade before harvesters can return for the threatened medicinal plant.

The North Carolina Forest Service says the invasive metallic green beetle known as the emerald ash borer has now been detected in 76 counties.

Conservation groups are suing the Forest Service over allegedly using misleading data to justify large logging projects in the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest. Two other recently filed lawsuits take issue with proposed projects.

With alluring warm weather and blooming plants, March marks the start of North Carolina’s spring wildfire season.

The lawsuit filed in federal court argues the proposed Southside timber project violates federal law. The area slated for logging is near the Whitewater River in the Nantahala National Forest.

While the dangers may not be apocalyptic, zombie trees can pose serious threats to people and property.