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Here's why it smells like smoke in south Charlotte and Ballantyne

Fire officials in South Carolina are operating multiple prescribed burns with smoke blowing north towards Charlotte.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Smoke from prescribed, controlled burns in South Carolina may blow northward into parts of the Charlotte area.

Numerous WCNC NBC Charlotte viewers have reached out to our newsroom to report seeing and smelling smoke in southern Mecklenburg County, including in Ballantyne and other parts of south Charlotte.

One of the largest fires was about 100 acres and is located along Camp Creek Road in northern Lancaster County near the community of New Cut.

Two separate, one-acre, prescribed fires also occurred near Pleasant Hill in Lancaster County, and west of Great Falls in York County. A fourth fire, estimated to be about 10 acres, is burning west of Chesterfield.

First Warn Storm Team Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich said winds from the south could easily carry the smoke northward. 

Lancaster County emergency officials told WCNC NBC Charlotte there is no threat or danger. They emphasized the fires were prescribed, and under control.

"Prescribed fires, also known as prescribed burns or controlled burns, refer to the controlled application of fire by a team of fire experts under specified weather conditions to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire," the U.S. Forest Service explained on its website.

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