Fires Slowed in N.C., Still Burn Elsewhere

The first rain parts of North Carolina had seen in weeks gave firefighters time to fortify containment lines as nine major fires continued to burn on an estimated 10,300 acres of mountain forest land. While the rain slowed the fires, it didn’t stop them, a U.S. Forest Service official said. Smaller fires also continue to burn in five western North Carolina counties, although nearly all were contained, and in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. In Virginia, two fires that merged in Shenandoah National Park had burned more than 13,200 acres, officials said.