"ASHEVILLE, NC -- Authorities say 2,500 firefighters and other personnel are making progress on containing some of the biggest wildfires in western North Carolina, and rain could help in the coming days.

As of Saturday morning, five of 11 wildfires listed in the Joint Information Center's update were more than 50 percent contained. Two of the fires also were affecting parts of South Carolina and Georgia.

The National Weather Service said that it was expecting rain in the next week in drought-stricken areas from Alabama and north Georgia through South Carolina's Upstate, western North Carolina and Tennessee. Some areas could get several inches of rain by next Saturday, according to a weather service forecast map."

The Associated Press had the story November 27, 2016. [2]