Behind-the-scenes rescuers: Emergency management team gears up for autumn rescue season

out frSummer’s not quite over, but emergency responders in Haywood County are already practicing their skills in preparation for rescue season, known to most simply as “fall.”

“That time of year is when our beautiful forest has people, by the hundreds and by the thousands,” said Greg Shuping, Haywood County’s director of emergency management. “The more people we get up there, the more likelihood of a missing or injured person.”

Bumper crop feeds animals, insects and future fall color

out autumnAs fall colors fade from the landscape, the bright yellows and oranges become a vivid memory marking the peak of the autumn season. As winter approaches, now is the time for the rich reds, burnt yellows and russet colors donned by the last of the deciduous trees to drop their foliage: the oaks. Always the last to leave the party in the fall and the most hesitant to sprout their leaves in the spring, the dominance of oaks in our forest cannot be denied.  

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