May 31, 2026
The May 19 fire at Wood Recyclers on Brown Road in Pisgah Forest continued to smoulder for days after emergency personnel from two counties coordinated a response to douse the flames. Transylvania County EMS
By Jonathan Rich
BrevardBeagle.com
Thursday afternoon Brevard Fire Department Chief Chase Owen told members of the Brevard Public Safety Committee the emergency response to the May 19 fire at Wood Recyclers on Brown Road in Pisgah Forest was an impressive coordinated effort between multiple agencies in two counties that turned an accidental blaze into a controlled burn that, while still smouldering 10 days later, no longer posed a threat to the public or adjacent property owners.
Owen said the fire at the debris recycling business was responded to by the Little River Fire Department as well as all fire departments in Transylvania and Henderson counties, The Transylvania County Rescue Squad, NC Forest Service crews and helicopters, the city of Brevard and Hendersonville water systems and Transylvania County schools which provided a fuel truck.
“When I got there, we could see the smoke column coming up and called for additional resources,” Owen said. “They called for a tanker and a ladder truck to go down there and set up for about seven or eight hours.”
Owen said all emergency personnel worked as fast as possible to contain the fire.
“We were hauling water as fast as we possibly could float it out,” he explained. “I mean, we were flowing 800 gallons a minute.”
The fire chief said water from multiple sources, including Brevard Academy, Strauss Park, Transylvania Regional Hospital and a nearby river, were utilized until what was at first an uncontrolled fire in a wooded area was reduced to smouldering mulch and ash that would continue to smoke for a few days until it naturally burned itself out.
“We’ve had fires in that area before, in fact there was a smaller one there two weeks ago, but the good thing is that it is going to stay somewhat contained to that area and everyone involved was able to handle things safely and without incident,” Owen concluded.