THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 9, 1995 TAG: 9505090257
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DeGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: STUMPY POINT LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Flames leapt up to 15 feet through a thick pine forest on the Dare County mainland Sunday night.
By Monday morning, the fast-burning blaze had spread across more than 300 acres of dense underbrush and trees on the U.S. Air Force bombing range.
More than 70 firefighters have worked continuously for the past two days, trying to control the state's second-largest forest fire of the year.
Officials with the North Carolina Forestry Service say the fire could burn for more than a week.
``The problem with forest fires like this is that ground fires often continue to smolder long after the big blaze is out. Sometimes, you can't even see these ground fires. In a sense, you just have to let them burn themselves out,'' said Forestry Service spokeswoman Laura Barston.
``They told us to plan to stay between three days and up to a week. Our crews will continue to monitor the area all night long,'' Barston said from her temporary office near Stumpy Point Monday afternoon.
``Right now, we have the blaze contained within fire lines in about a 325-acre area.''
Forestry officials are still investigating the cause of the blaze, which began about 2 p.m. Sunday. Barston said they do not suspect arson. ``It's always a possibility that it could have started from lightning,'' she said.
On the remote wilderness of the Dare County mainland - between Stumpy Point and Englehard - the forest fire is not threatening any homes, businesses or even structures. No one has had to be evacuated. No firefighters have been injured.
``We didn't have any military planes flying over here today. They had to shut down our air space because of the fire,'' bombing range spokeswoman Lou Ann Gibbs said Monday. ``We can't even see the smoke from our station, it's so far away. But we probably won't be able to have any flights out here on Tuesday, either.''
Besides local forestry workers, firefighters from the Air Force bombing the Dare County mainland Sunday night.
By Monday morning, the fast-burning blaze had spread across more than 300 acres of dense underbrush and trees on the U.S. Air Force bombing range.
More than 70 firefighters have worked continuously for the past two days, trying to control the state's second-largest forest fire of the year.
Officials with the North Carolina Forestry Service say the fire could burn for more than a week.
``The problem with forest fires like this is that ground fires often continue to smolder long after the big blaze is out. Sometimes, you can't even see these ground fires. In a sense, you just have to let them burn themselves out,'' said Forestry Service spokeswoman Laura Barston.
``They told us to plan to stay between three days and up to a week. Our crews will continue to monitor the area all night long,'' Barston said from her temporary office near Stumpy Point Monday afternoon.
``Right now, we have the blaze contained within fire lines in about a 325-acre area.''
Forestry officials are still investigating the cause of the blaze, which began about 2 p.m. Sunday. Barston said they do not suspect arson. ``It's always a possibility that it could have started from lightning,'' she said.
On the remote wilderness of the Dare County mainland - between Stumpy Point and Englehard - the forest fire is not threatening any homes, businesses or even structures. No one has had to be evacuated. No firefighters have been injured.
``We didn't have any military planes flying over here today. They had to shut down our air space because of the fire,'' bombing range spokeswoman Lou Ann Gibbs said Monday. ``We can't even see the smoke from our station, it's so far away. But we probably won't be able to have any flights out here on Tuesday, either.''
Besides local forestry workers, firefighters from the Air Force bombing range and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are helping battle the blaze.
North Carolina's ``Major Fire Team'' was called Sunday afternoon to help. Dozens of firefighting planes and trucks also are assisting.
``We have a helicopter that can carry between 80 and 100 gallons of water. It's been scooping up water from the local canals and spraying the flames from above,'' Barston said. ``We're also using a scout plane, an air tanker that carries between 2,500 and 3,000 gallons of water at a time, and three tractor trucks can hold 550 gallons each. We're working our own air force out here and fighting that fire from all angles.''
To contain the blaze, firefighters used five tractors and five ``go-tracs,'' tractors that carry water tanks and plows. The heavy equipment cut spreading at that point. Late Monday afternoon, firefighters were still reinforcing some of the fire lines, Barston said.
``Right now, we're worried about winds whipping this blaze back up,'' she said. ``We couldn't get enough water in there to cool it off. Of all the factors involved, we have the least control over the weather.''
The Dare County mainland forest fire is the third big blaze to erupt in eastern North Carolina since early April. Shortly after Easter, a forest fire burned 550 acres of the Croatan National Forest near Morehead City. On Saturday, a forest fire burned 200 acres in Pender County.
KEYWORDS: FOREST FIRE U.S. AIR FORCE by CNB