A new fire was reported at Brunswick County, in North Carolina on Saturday. The blaze reportedly broke out near Ocean Isle beach. Visuals showed a scary blaze and thick smoke was expected to impact other areas.
The chief meteorologist for local news channel WMBF said on Facebook that the smoke from the Ocean Isle fire would go into the Grand Strand especially from North Myrtle to Little River.
“Brunswick Fire officials are working to contain it and protect homes,” he added, sharing a scary photo showing a massive fire.
The fire broke out along NC-179 and Hale Swamp Road and has been described as a rapidly growing fire by a local news channel on the weather. “Fire officials are working to contain it and protect homes. A Burn Ban for open burning remains in effect until further notice for all NC 100 counties,” they added, sharing photos of the scary blaze.
Alarms sounded amid fires in North Carolina
The news of the fire comes after a fire danger statement was issued by the National Weather Service. It noted that this would stay in effect from 10am ET Sunday morning to 8pm ET Sunday evening, across northeast South Carolina and southeast North Carolina.
“The combination of dry fuels from the ongoing drought and low relative humidity will continue to produce an increased fire danger across northeast SC and southeast NC Sunday. Despite winds only expected to gust up to 15-17 mph, the strong winds seen on Saturday have already evaporated the moisture was that was on the ground. Burn bans are now in effect across both of the Carolinas until further notice. Relative humidity values are expected to drop near 35% Sunday afternoon, particularly inland,” the statement read.
Sometime back, the Calabash Fire Department also provided an update on the burn ban. “The North Carolina Forest Service has just issued a burn ban which prohibits ALL open burning and cancels all burning permits until further notice. This is in addition to the previous countywide burn ban that prohibited burning within 100 feet of any structure in the unincorporated areas of Brunswick County. The new ban also carries a considerable fine for violations,” the statement read.
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It added “Due to increased wildfire risk, the N.C. Forest Service has issued a ban on all open burning and has canceled all burning permits statewide effective 6 p.m. Saturday, March 28 until further notice. With drought severity across the state, forecast fire weather and the potential for limited rainfall, it is critical to reduce the number of new fire starts,’ said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. ‘Vegetative fuels will dry rapidly, and with the amount of fuel loading in the mountains and drought impacts statewide, a burn ban for all 100 counties is necessary to reduce the number of wildfires across our landscape. Please follow this burn ban to help reduce the risk for everyone.”
Further, the statement continued, “Under North Carolina law, the ban prohibits all open burning statewide, regardless of whether a permit was previously issued. The issuance of any new permits has also been suspended until the ban is lifted. Anyone violating the burn ban faces a $100 fine plus $183 court costs. Any person responsible for setting a fire may be liable for any expenses related to extinguishing the fire.”
Several people reacted as the new fire broke out, seeking protection for those nearby, as well as for the first responders.
