Commercial Truck Insurance in Henderson, NC

These Covid tracking pages are no longer being updated. Get the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control, or find archived data from The Times’s three year reporting effort here.

An updated vaccine is recommended for adults and most children. Statewide, 3% of vaccinations did not specify a home county.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: The hospitals map shows the average I.C.U. occupancy at nearby hospitals in the most recent week with data reported. The data is self-reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by individual hospitals. It excludes counts from hospitals operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service. Numbers for hospitalized patients are based on inpatient beds and include I.C.U. beds. Hospitalized Covid-19 patients include both confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023.

How trends have changed in Henderson County

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: Weekly county death data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. Hospitalization data is a weekly average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Henderson County. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government.

Historical trends in Henderson County

The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated. Weekly county case data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023. Test positivity data is based only on test results reported to the federal government and is a seven-day average.

Data on this page is reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Population and demographic data is from the U.S. Census Bureau. Hospitalization data is reported by individual hospitals to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and it includes confirmed and suspected adult and pediatric patients. The C.D.C. does not provide complete vaccinations data for some counties and caps its vaccination rate figures at 95 percent.

The C.D.C. may make historical updates as more data is reported.

The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on Covid cases in May 2023.

HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. – Since Friday firefighters have been working to contain what is now known as the Poplar Drive fire, and today those efforts continued on Tuesday.

Tuesday was a dry and warm day in Henderson County as 431 acres continue to burn.

“Of course, warm, windy, dry always increases fire behavior so where we have unburned islands or areas where the leaf fall has accumulated on top of hot spots were seeing a little bit of increased activity,” said Kevin Harvell, incident commander for the state’s Forest Service.

Firefighters have been working around the clock.

“My folks are out there accessing the containment lines,” Harvell said. “Getting a little bit of ‘mop-up’ done which is where we go in and put water and foam and dig with hand tools to put out the hot spots that are close to the containment lines.”

While the fight against the fire wages on, fire crews are making progress.

“That’s why you haven’t seen the acre increase because we have it down to blow dozer lines, we have some hand lines in there as well and the road network up there so between all of those things we have it hemmed up,” Harvell said. “But we don’t call it contained until we feel comfortable that the structure patrol and the wildland firefighters can walk away and there is little or no chance of that fire getting out and forcing us to come back and do something.”

Breece Pittillo, a landowner who lives close to the fire said residents in the area are grateful for the long days and long nights first responders are putting into fighting the Poplar Fire.

“The community is as great as it’s always been there always fully supportive of all the fire fighters and everyone who is involved with this all the families affected directly and indirectly by this are being supported by the community and that’s what the community is all about and has always been,” he said.

The North Carolina Forest Service says this fire could be weeks away from being 100% contained however a lot of that is weather dependent.

The Forest Service adds that folks can expect to see an increase in containment over the next few days.

The official cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The much-anticipated rainfall Nov. 10 and 11 across the mountains was not enough to make a dent in the Poplar Drive Fire in Henderson County. As the fire near Edneyville enters its ninth day, it remains at 434 acres and 50% contained, according to a Nov. 11 morning update from the North Carolina Forest Service.

Percent containment represents sections of fire line that pose no escape risk without further action from firefighters. On Nov. 8, Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency due to existing and potential wildfires in North Carolina.

A N.C. Forest Service report issued about 7 p.m. Nov. 10 had the Poplar Drive fire at the same size.

"Firefighters will continue to benefit from the rain and cooler temperatures to work aggressively on mop-up operations, strengthen containment lines with dozer equipment and hand crews, and press further into the smoldering areas of the fire," according to the Nov. 11 news release.

Water handling operations with drop tanks, water tender equipment and hose lays will continue throughout Saturday. Drone operations to assess heat signatures within the fire footprint will resume once the rain dissipates.

According to the National Weather Service based in Greer, South Carolina, very little rain fell in the fire area over the past two days.

"In the 24 hours from 7 a.m. (Nov. 10) to 7 a.m. this morning, the Poplar Fire area got between .12 and .15 inches of rain. They may get a little bit early Sunday, maybe a couple hundreths of an inch," said NWS meteorologist Jeffrey Taylor.

He said after Nov. 12 rain is not expected again until Nov. 15 or 15, when a half-inch could fall.

The Asheville area also received very little rain over the past 24 hours, Taylor said, with .04 inches of rainfall Nov. 10 and so far on Saturday, there has been .11 inches of rain.

The high temperatures Nov. 11 are expected to reach 55 degrees, with a low overnight around 41, high on Sunday around 52 and overnight Sunday, low hovering around freezing.

Much of Western North Carolina is in moderate to severe drought. The departure from normal, not including Nov. 11, is 11.79 inches below normal value for year to date rainfall, Taylor said.

See a map of fires burning across Western North Carolina at https://data.citizen-times.com/fires.

The Poplar Drive fire was first reported Nov. 3. The cause has not yet been determined.

One home, two cabins and three outbuildings have been lost, while another home sustained damage. Area homes remain threatened, and N.C. Forest Service personnel, county fire department and sheriff’s office staff are continually assessing the needs of those structures. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Two firefighters sustained minor injuries and both were treated and released. Four minor motor vehicle accidents have been reported with no injuries.

Personnel with the N.C. Forest Service, N.C. Emergency Management, Office of State Fire Marshal, Henderson County Emergency Management, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, Edneyville Fire Department along with numerous other fire departments from across the state are responding to the incident.

More:Hendersonville vineyard owner describes Poplar Drive Fire, community response

Fire Behavior: Minimal smoldering remains within the fire footprint. Potential for fire reignition is elevated due to leaf fall and snags.

Weather: Bearwallow remote access weather station received 0.31 inches of rain Friday night into Saturday morning, registering the most rain across the state during that timeframe. Rain continues to fall in the area of the fire Saturday morning. Accumulation of appreciable rain is not forecast for the next several days.

More:Open burning banned in 14 WNC counties as fires grow, 'severe' drought continues

Burn Ban Notice: Effective 5 p.m. Nov. 8, a burn ban was issued for Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Caldwell, Catawba, Haywood, Iredell, Lincoln, Madison, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey counties. Effective 5 p.m. Nov. 5, a burn ban was issued for Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain and Transylvania counties. Both bans remain in effect until further notice.

Temporary Flight Restriction: A “TFR” is in place at an altitude from the surface up to and including 7,500 feet, daily (24 hours) until further notice. Complete information is at https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_3_8718.html. Flying drones within a TFR designated area is unlawful. Flying a drone near or around a wildfire compromises the safety of pilots and interferes with firefighting efforts. Flying a drone near or around a wildfire compromises the safety of pilots and interferes with firefighting efforts.

Poplar Drive by the numbers:

Fire discovered: Nov. 3, 2023

Acreage: 434 acres

Containment: 50%

Personnel and Equipment: 140 personnel

Cost: $518,000.

For Poplar Drive Fire updates, visit ncforestservice.gov/fire_control/sit_report.htm or follow the N.C. Forest Service on Facebook at facebook.com/NCForestService.

Several other wildfires continue to burn across WNC, including the Collett Ridge Fire in the Nantahala National Forest in Cherokee County, now at more than 5,000 acres and 5% containment, and the East Fork Fire, at 95%, U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Adrianna Rubiaco told the Citizen Times Nov. 10. The fire remains at around 300 acres.

Undeterred by a male-dominated industry, the retired banker has sparked change throughout her career.

When Sue Henderson moved to High Point in 1983 for her husband Doug Henderson’s job with the Milliken textile company, she expected to easily find another banking job.

The Savannah, Georgia, native had fallen in love with finance work after earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Georgia and three years of experience at Atlanta-based Citizens & Southern National Bank, then the largest in the Southeast. But her record didn’t change that she was a woman, then a rarity among bank administrators. She was offered teller and customer service positions.

Henderson persisted and landed a branch manager position with North Carolina National Bank in Jamestown. That launched a 30-plus year career with Wells Fargo and its predecessors. Among her roles were helping add financial services offerings in bank branches, then an innovative concept.

She retired as senior vice president and managing director for wealth management in 2016. In 2018, Wake Forest University asked her to help create the Face to Face Speaker Forum, a series featuring four annual events with high-profile speakers and a goal of raising the Winston-Salem school’s profile and engaging the local community. She is executive director, helping arrange speakers and form partnerships with nonprofits and schools.

Since its start in 2020, the program has attracted famed leaders including Madeleine Albright, former United States Secretary of State; Chuck Hagel, former United States Secretary of Defense; and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Henderson sits on six nonprofit boards, including Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist-Brenner Children’s Hospital, Brevard Music Center and REACH Women’s Network Board.

In 2016, Doug and Sue received the Gianni Society Award, an honor given by the UNC School of the Arts for service and support. The couple, who have been married 42 years, have two daughters and three grandchildren.

Comments are edited for length and clarity.

When we (Doug and Sue Henderson) were transferred to High Point, I was told I was going to the banking mecca and wouldn’t have any trouble finding a job. I’d already been a branch manager and a banking officer, but when I went to apply for jobs, I was turned away. They said, “We don’t have any female banking officers.” I was discouraged.

I called the switchboard operators at all the big banks. I asked for specific information about the names of the bank executives. That afternoon I called back, and they put me through. When the executive got on the phone, I said, “Mr. Smith, you don’t know me, but if you can give me 15 seconds to share a little bit about my background, I think it would be time well spent.” That’s how I got in with all three banks (First Union, NCNB and Wachovia) and I had a job offer from every one of them.

My first role in North Carolina was with NCNB. I was the branch manager in Jamestown. What I didn’t know was that it was a de novo branch. The day before my first day at my new job, my husband and I drove to Jamestown and realized it was a trailer.

I went to my boss and asked, “What’s it going to take to have bricks and mortar?” He said, “We have to have loans and deposits at a certain level.” I pulled the team together for our first sales meeting and said, “If we want to move out of this trailer, I have to get outside and drum up some business.” I cross-trained the head teller to be the customer service rep. She trained one of the tellers to be the head teller. I could go out and ask for business.

Wachovia had 99.9% of the market share in this town (Jamestown). I started making connections. Slowly, we grew our loans and deposits, and we were under construction in a little over six months.

The biggest career leap for me was when I was promoted to a regional position over 30 branches in the Winston-Salem area with First Union. It was a huge growth opportunity for me personally, in terms of development. I inherited a region that was struggling with integration. First Union had merged with Northwestern Bank. It was the first merger of equals, at that time. First Union had all the metro market branches. Northwestern had a hold in the community market branches. The cultures were very different. It was dynamic and challenging. I did it the hard way: relationship building with the leaders of those branches in seven counties.

In the mid-1990s, Reynolds merged with Nabisco Brands to form RJR Nabisco. This delivered us an interesting market opportunity. Reynolds employees found themselves millionaires a few years later as a result of the spinoff. Brokerage firms moved into Winston-Salem to capture the low-hanging fruit.

I felt so empowered working at First Union. I could see what was happening and understood a potential solution, and they gave me the opportunity. I licensed 10 branch employees with FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) initially, and I hired some outside financial advisers. We were the first in North Carolina, and maybe in the country, to have licensed branch employees.

It launched me into the wealth management space. I was elevated into private capital management, and I stayed there for the rest of my career. I absolutely loved every second of it.

I think Winston-Salem’s landscape has changed because we’ve had a number of big corporations move their headquarters. It’s allowed Winston-Salem the opportunity to reinvent itself. We are a city of innovation and arts and culture. That spirit has allowed us to be entrepreneurial and attract a lot of business here. ■

HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Emergency crews continue to battle a large brush fire in Henderson County on Sunday, Nov. 5, that has destroyed at least two homes and one outbuilding so far, officials said.

7:00 p.m. (Nov. 5):

Henderson County declared a State of Emergency Sunday at 7 p.m., which enables county officials to seek state and federal resources as crews continue to fight the blaze in the Edneyville area.

By Sunday night, Edneyville Fire Chief Robert Griffin said fire containment lines for the Poplar Drive Fire held better Sunday morning than they had Saturday morning, though crews were still dealing with fire burning nearly a foot below the surface because of how dry the land is.

“To put lines in, they’re pretty much going to have to be all plow lines where they’re going down to earthy soil, getting rid of all that duff. But you also have to look at clearing roots. As it burns down to the duff, if it was to burn roots, it could pop up on the other side.”

Griffin said at any one time, there were 150 people from four counties actively working the fire, with around 40 apparatus on the ground and in the air.

A statewide request for aid went out Sunday afternoon, which would allow relief for crews across several counties, which is much-needed since fire personnel are expected to remain on-scene for a minimum of three weeks.

County officials also said school buses will not travel on Kyles Creek Road or Green Mountain Road on Monday, Nov. 6.

3:15 p.m. (Nov. 5):

In an update at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday about the Poplar Drive Fire, a Henderson County spokesperson said fire officials "have identified 75 structures that are in the current fire containment zone," meaning 75 homes are now considered threatened by the fire.

The N.C. Forest Service updated its estimate of the Poplar Drive Fire Sunday afternoon, saying it had spread to 430 acres in size with 5% containment, up from about 250 acres just hours prior that morning.

For now, fire department crews on scene are focusing on structure protection, while the N.C. Forest Service is focusing its efforts on putting in fire lines.

9 a.m. (Nov. 5):

The North Carolina Forest Service announced in a press release Sunday morning, Nov. 5, that as of 9 a.m., the Poplar Drive Fire burning in the Edneyville community was 250 acres in size and 5% contained. Officials said one other home sustained minimal damage and there have been no injuries reported so far.

The state Forest Service said Henderson County Emergency Management and Henderson County Sherriff’s Office have implemented evacuations with at least 34 structures currently threatened.

BURN BANS ISSUED FOR SEVERAL COUNTIES IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA DUE TO DANGEROUS FIRE CONDITIONS

4:30 a.m. (Nov. 5):

Earlier Sunday, around 4:30 a.m., the sheriff's office announced that the Edneyville Fire Department was "highly encouraging anyone who lives above the 300 block of E Poplar and W Poplar to evacuate at this time due to fire conditions."

Anyone without a place to go can call the Edneyville Fire Department at (828) 685-7311 for more information or go to the cafeteria at the Fruitland Bible College on Gilliam Road and they will be able to accommodate people there. To contact Fruitland Bible College call (828) 685-8886.

Donations for fire personnel

Fire officials thank the public for the donations received thus far. For anyone planning to make donations, a drop-off location has been established at the Fruitland Baptist Church Fellowship Hall located at 150 College Street in Hendersonville.

"The tremendous community support has reduced the needs so no additional supplies are needed immediately. Specific needs will continue to be communicated with the public," the county said in a press release Sunday.

The public is asked to avoid the areas of Kyles Creek Road, East Poplar Drive, Green Mountain Road, Rhodes Road and any neighborhoods that connect off those roads to allow fire crews to operate safely.

Burn ban in effect for Henderson County

A burn ban went into effect for Henderson County as of 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, county officials said. The burn ban means all outdoor burning is prohibited in areas within 100 feet of any structure. Due to hazardous fire conditions across Henderson County, which is in the midst of a severe drought per the U.S. Drought Monitor, the burn ban will remain in effect until further notice, when conditions improve. A burn ban also went into effect for Buncombe County as well, as of 9 a.m. on Nov. 5, which prohibits burning of yard waste, debris, or land clearing burns during this ban. It is never legal to burn anything other than naturally occurring vegetation. This ban does not include fires contained in a pit, barbecue grill, or chiminea device smaller than three feet in diameter. This burning ban will also be in effect until conditions improve and the ban is canceled.

SOME RESIDENTS EVACUATE HOMES AS HENDERSON COUNTY BRUSH FIRE GROWS SUBSTANTIALLY

With dry conditions and low relative humidity expected to continue over the next several days, the N.C. Forest Service is strongly urging all of the public to postpone any and all outdoor burning, even residents in areas where burn bans have not been issued.

Personnel with the N.C. Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service, Office of State Fire Marshal, Edneyville Fire Department, Henderson County Emergency Management and fire departments from Buncombe, Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties are responding to the the Poplar Fire.

Air quality alert

The North Carolina Division of Air Quality issued a Code Red for Henderson and Cherokee counties, effective 3:50 p.m. Saturday through midnight Sunday, for fine particulates, due to smoke from ongoing fires. This means children, active people, older adults and those with heart or lung disease (like asthma) should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion. Everyone else should limit prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.