BURGAW, N.C. - Firefighters were back at it again today.
They're doing what they can to keep the wildfire under control in Pender and Onslow counties.
As of now, the Holly Shelter fire is more than 21,000 acres in size and 10% contained.
The state of emergency remains in effect , but crews are making progress in protecting nearby communities.
They have called of the voluntary evacuation in Onslow County.
Forestry officials say as of now, the fire is not a threat to people, but those who live close to the fire lines aren't taking any chances.
Some folks say if they don't protect their homes, they don't think anyone else will.
Usually its quiet when the wind blows Sandy Jones' way, but fire season, is a different story.
She goes through it just about every year,
That’s why she bought ATV's. She took Nine On Your Side on a ride to see for ourselves.
They've lived here for more than 20 years. This is her family’s land, right in the middle of the Holly Shelter Game Land, surrounded by acres and acres of dry brush.
The prolem is, getting to Sandy is tough. Her road, Traders Neck Road, isn’t much more than a dirt path.
A little rain, heavy traffic, and it becomes impassable.
"Fire trucks have been stuck down there, news people been stuck down there, wildlife has been stuck down there,” said Jones.
Joe Beasley is one of her neighbors. It bothered him bad enough to build his own makeshift fire truck.
“It would help if they would put a little rock on it,” said Beasley. But they don’t, wont pave it either, and everyone out here says they've asked the state and the county. “I don’t really know what their problem is.”
“Oh God, so many times it ain’t even funny,” said Beasley. “I even sent pictures of where it looked like lakes and all in the road after the hurricanes and they still wont do it.”
At a briefing earlier in the day, folks with the State Forest Service said protecting homes was their top priority.
For now, there is no imminent threat.
“Were gonna keep an eye on things to make sure that those folks remain safe,” said officials.
Jones feels like safety is something she'll have to provide and so she focuses on that, saying “Saving the lives of my kids and all in here.”
Fire officials said the little rain they got yesterday didn't help much. But they do expect the wind to die down on Sunday and that could make smoke a big problem for much of the area again.
There will be a public meeting tomorrow night at the Holly Ridge Fire Department to talk about what’s being done with the fire.
--- Previous Story - Coastal blazes signal longer fire season ---
BURGAW, N.C. - A wildfire continues to threaten communities in Pender and Onslow counties.
The fire remains at around 21,000 acres in size.
A voluntary evacuation order is in place for people living along Highway 50 north of the fire and on the west side of Highway 17 from the county line to Sloop Point Road.
Crews say they have the fire is 10% contained.
State officials say that the wildfires burning along the coast are signs that spring fire season is getting longer. In fact, state forestry service director Wib Owen said Friday that the fire season used to start in March and end in May. Owen says for several years, the season has been starting in February and lasting through June. He says that this year, crews will likely be fighting blazes into July.
Meanwhile, the wildfire in Dare County that started on May 5th is mostly contained. Owen thinks it will keep burning until the area gets around six inches of rain.
--- Previous Story - Wildfire grows, continues to threaten Pender-Onslow county communities ---
BURGAW, N.C. - The Holly Shelter Game Land wildfire continues to threaten communities in both Pender and Onslow County.
The fire is more than 21,000 acres. Crews say they now have it 10 percent contained.
There is a voluntary evacuation order in place for people who live along Highway 50 north of the fire and on the west side of Highway 17 from the county line to Sloop Point Road.
Shelters are open at Topsail Elementary School in Pender County and Southwest Middle School in Onslow County.
They haven't closed any roads yet, but they tell drivers to be cautious where there is thick smoke.
It is sort of like a perfect storm.
Along a small dirt access road off of Highway 210, Bruce McDonald shows that first hand.
"We're coming down into this area now, here, actually just across the power lines," said McDonald.
Power lines they're using as impromptu fire lines.
This fire is a controlled burn, just one way they’re trying to keep it from spreading. They started the burnout last night and are continuing it today.
At the command center set up at Trask High School in Rocky Point, Diane Steltz keeps information flowing.
A map of the fire shows where firefighters are concentrating their efforts.
But Steltz acknowledges, the map is likely to change dramatically when the new acreage numbers come in.
Newly developed areas are disconcerting, but if the fire reaches a trigger point, if the fire were to go in that direction and cross a certain point, that would trigger a mandatory evacuation.
On the fire line, smoke picks up, darkens the sky, and the fire begins to spread once again.
The radio rings of severe weather and McDonald says its time to get out. Heavy wind, and lightning, and this fire could get much worse.
There's no doubt the wildfire is sending out massive amounts of smoke and that's impacting a lot of areas near and far from the fire location.
Surf City is a popular place for tourists from across the country. But this week, things look a lot different.
Breana Hall is visiting Surf City from Durham.
"I've been coming since I was a little girl. My grandma has a beach house here. And the fog was really smoky on the way here," said Breana Hall, Tourist.
Pictures show what the fire has looked like in Surf City this week.
While there were blue skies on Thursday, Hall said people are still talking about the smoke and haze. Her friend Braxton O'Neal lives in Surf City and agreed.
"It's a real thick smoke. You can see the fire from everywhere. It's through North Carolina, so a lot of the tourists have been complaining," said Braxton O'Neal, Surf City resident.
In fact, people have been calling the Surf City Visitor's Center all day to find out what's going on.
Allan Libby is the Director of Tourism Development. He said while people are concerned, the wildfire hasn't completely stopped people from coming to the beach, “As you saw when you were outside, it's hot, it's hazy, it's humid but there are people outside having a good time."
The fire is impacting people in other counties too.
While there is no question the fire is having an impact in eastern North Carolina, people just hope it doesn't take away from all of the fun in the sun during the height of tourist season.
This fire is definitely the talk of the town.
--- Previous Story - Holly Shelter fire grows to 20,000 acres ---
ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. - Firefighters on the ground in Onslow and Pender counties are focused on saving homes from a growing wildfire.
About 20,000 acres of forest land burned so far. Dry conditions and shifting wind pose the biggest challenges at the moment. Firefighters will work overnight on the ground building fire breaks until it gets too dangerous for them to be there.
The flames have been within a half mile of homes, firefighters say priority one is saving them.
A back fire to stop the wildfire from spreading is within a half mile of Bill Cauley's home of 32 years. He saw the main fire get that close hours earlier. He says, "When I begin to see flames and I feel like that it's gonna' endanger my family and my property and my life, then we're getting away from here."
Authorities say the fire's so powerful that it's generating its own weather. Norman Bryson, The Onslow County Emergency Management Director says, "It's very much like a tinderbox. It's very dry conditions with a lot of heat behind it."
Smoke is seemingly everywhere. Roughly 35 miles away from Holly Ridge where Cauley lives visibility could drop to less than a quarter mile in Jones County. Bill Cauley and his neighbors watered down their homes and property. He lived here in the mid-80's when the fire came right up to his yard, for now he's staying put. He says, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it and possibly that'll be tonight, might be tomorrow. You know, they've been predicting rain everyday and it ain't showed up, been looking for it. They're predicting this fire. I'm looking for that. Ain't seen it. So, you know, I'll take my chances."
There are at least 150 firefighters covering the entire area. The wildfire is not contained.
--- Previous Story: UPDATE: Holly Shelter fire grows to more than 18,000 acres, shelters open---
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - The Onslow County Red Cross Chapter is providing a safe place for people evacuating from the Holly Shelter Fire. A shelter will be open at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon at Southwest Middle School, 3000 Furia Drive. A state of emergency was also declared for Pender and Onslow Counties.
Officials tell us the fire has crossed the Onslow County line. Voluntary evacuations are in progress. N.C. Forestry has issued a voluntary evacuation for the areas between Shepard Road and Padgett Road along N.C. Highway 50. The Red Cross opened a shelter at Southwest Middle School in Onslow County and a shelter is now open at North Topsail Elementary School on Hwy 17.
People living in the area of the wildfire are advised to listen to local radio and television stations for updated emergency information, make plans to stay at the shelter if necessary or arrange for temporary housing at a friend/relative’s home including plans for household pets.
Lightning sparked the fire on Holly Shelter Game Land on Saturday. Dry and breezy conditions fueled the fire which is around 20,000 acres in size.
---Previous Story---
Crews are working to gain control of the wildfire at Holly Shelter Game Land. A lightning strike sparked the fire on Saturday. Smoke from the fire has people in the area concerned.
"It starts right here at the edge, then goes around the bend. That's it. 30 acres," said Diane Kuzina. She owns a lot of land near the Pender and Onslow county lines. From her home, she can see plenty of heavy smoke like this, making her concerned. "It's very dry. Very dry. And it's just like I don't want to lose my house. It's just scary."
She's not alone.
"I mean, it's close to home. Close to the house and it could come here," said Chris Tyson, Burgaw.
"But despite people's concerns, Emergency Officials said at this point, there is no immediate threat to people in Pender County.
As a precaution, officials have closed the Holly Shelter Game Land off Highway 17. That's near Hampstead and west of Surf City.
It's a remote area and so far there are no mandatory evacuations. But officials said they are ready to spring into action.
"Pender County Emergency Officials have made structural protection plans and they are ready in the event that an evacuation needs to occur," said Chris Meggs, North Carolina Forestry Service.
Forestry officials have been working around the clock. He said the wind caused the fire to quickly spread from about a 1,000 acres to almost 4,000.
He said that combined with the heat is making things difficult for crews, “We've got a lot of people here and a lot of work has been done, a lot of work still to do."
Homeowners like Kuzina sit back and hope for the best.
Officials said the fire was most likely caused by lightning on Saturday, but it wasn't discovered until Sunday. They want drivers to be careful because the smoke continues across eastern Carolina.
--- Previous Story - Pender County fire now estimated at 3,300 acres ---
PENDER COUNTY, N.C. - This afternoon that wildfire in Pender County is still burning.
The size of the fire extends about 3,300 acres.
For safety reasons, officials have closed the Holly Shelter Game Land. People living near the Game Land have also been warned to prepare just in case of evacuation.
The fire was most likely caused by a lightning on Saturday night, but wasn't discovered until Sunday.
Meanwhile, state officials are uging motorists to use extra caution while driving as the combination of the Pender, Dare, and Hyde County wildfires and high summer temperatures have created a hazy condition that is limiting visibility along roadways.
The National Weather Service expects smoke from the fires to continue to spread across eastern and central North Carolina through the afternoon and into the evening. Visibility may be reduced at times.
If you encounter smoky or hazy conditions that limit visibility, turn on your headlights and use extra caution.
--- Original Story - Fire creates heavy smoke in Pender County ---
PENDER COUNTY, N.C. - Emergency management says a fire at Holly Shelter Gamelands is creating heavy smoke throughout the area.
Officials say the fire was caused by a lightning strike on Saturday. Dry conditions caused the fire to grow, which has now burned more than 100 acres. At this time the fire is not a threat to nearby communities but emergency officials are monitoring the fire and will alert the public if needed. The N.C. Forestry Service is working to contain the fire.
Stay with Nine On Your Side for updates.
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