By Mark Washburn for the Charlotte Observer
LAKE LURE, NC – First off, Bambi is just fine.
Woodland critters such as deer and bear packed up and left imperiled wildfire areas far more cooperatively than did their human neighbors, who in some cases had to be run off by the cops with evacuation orders.
Second off, the 7,100 acres scorched by the wildfire at Lake Lure – like most of the other timberland burning in mountainous western North Carolina – will likely spring back to life next year with renewed vigor.