Officials issue fire risk warnings for Triangle, Eastern N.C
Copyright 2006 The News and Observer
By TOBY COLEMAN
The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Soaring temperatures and blue skies turned North Carolina into a tinderbox this weekend.
About 160 blazes burned hundreds of acres of brush, woodland and swamp Friday and Saturday as state foresters and federal forecasters issued a red flag warning for severe wildfire risk in nearly a third of the state, including the Triangle and much of eastern North Carolina.
On Saturday in Durham, firefighters worked to extinguish a brush fire near Junction Road. Several businesses were evacuated but no injuries were reported.
Near Fort Bragg, firefighters labored to douse a blaze that encompassed about 750 acres of swampland and pine forest.
Wildfires, as much a part of Southern spring as magnolia blossoms, are sprouting in extraordinary numbers this year because of a record-setting drought. About 3,750 wildfires have singed the state so far this year, almost double the number that flared during the same period in 2005.
The blazes pose a serious risk to many homeowners, mainly because North Carolina has more territory than other states where homes are built either in forests or next to them. To limit the danger, state foresters are urging homeowners to clear debris away from their homes and to use extreme caution while working with fire outdoors.
On Friday, fire fears spread through the Summitt Ridge and Pumpkin Ridge subdivisions near Wilkesboro, a town about 130 miles west of Chapel Hill. The Associated Press reported that firefighters evacuated about 50 homes Friday as wildfires blazed a couple hundred yards away but managed to stop the flames before they damaged any buildings. The fires were out by midday Saturday.
Humans probably helped Mother Nature start that blaze, according to firefighters.
Humans probably also played a key role in a wildfire that charred 289 acres in northeast Polk County, about 80 miles miles west of Charlotte. State foresters believe fireworks started the blaze, the AP reported.