With an overwhelming majority of counties under extreme drought, the North Carolina Forest Service is asking residents to be extra cautious when burning outdoors.

“With the recent rainfall combined with multiple winter storms earlier this year, some folks may not realize that most of North Carolina is still experiencing very dry conditions,” N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler stated in a release. “Our state’s gradual descent into drought and prolonged dry conditions are going to lead to wildfires igniting more easily, burning more intensely and spreading quicker. The best defense against wildfires will always be to prevent them from starting.”

According to the latest North Carolina Drought Advisory issued Feb. 19 by the Drought Management Advisory Council, 72 of the state’s 100 counties were experiencing severe drought.

As of Feb. 17, almost all of the 20 coastal counties were under moderate drought, with Carteret County experiencing abnormally dry conditions.

The N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council urges residents to practice various water conservation measures as the Forest Service asks the public to apply best practices and common sense when burning outdoors, especially yard debris.

The leading cause of wildfires across North Carolina continues to be escaped yard debris burns, according to the Forest Service. In fact, nearly half of all wildfires in the state start as a result of uncontrolled yard debris burns.

Human-caused wildfires also stem from machine and vehicle use, dragging tow chains, arson and escaped campfires.

“A fire can escape in a matter of seconds, especially on warm days when winds are gusty,” Troxler stated. “This means you never leave a fire unattended until it is completely out and cold.”

Counties in western North Carolina where forests were substantially damaged during Hurricane Helene in September 2024 “remain especially vulnerable to wildfires due to dead and dying timber,” the Forest Service stated.

Residents should contact their local N.C. Forest Service county ranger’s office before starting outdoor fires.

Observe the following safe burning practices:

• Check local burning laws.
• Ensure you have a valid permit to burn.
• Avoid burning on dry, windy days, placing yard vegetation in a cleared area and contain it by a screen receptacle away from overhead branches and wires.
• Don’t burn on dry, windy days.
• Place vegetative debris in a cleared area and contain it in a screened receptacle away from overhead branches and wires.
• Be sure you are fully prepared before burning, keeping a hose, bucket, steel rake and shovel to toss dirt on the fire, and a phone, close by.
• Do not use kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel or other flammable liquids to fuel a fire.
• Stay with your fire until it is completely out.
• Apply these tips to campfires and grills, dousing burning charcoal briquettes or campfires thoroughly with water until embers are cold to the touch. Use dirt or sand as an alternative to extinguish the fire, but be careful not to bury the fire.

Residents, especially those sensitive to smoke, including children, active people, older adults and those with heart or lung disease such as asthma, can stay smoke ready by utilizing air quality index resources, including the following:

• The Division of Air Quality website.
• The N.C. State University and Division of Air Quality portal.
• airnow.gov.

For additional information on how to prepare for and prevent wildfires, visit www.preventwildfirenc.org.

A wildfire in Brunswick County was caused by a debris burn on private property one week before the fire spread across more than 1,300 acres, according to an update by the N.C. Forest Service.

Bobby Max Lowery, 48, of Nebo has been cited and charged with what equates to failing to keep a careful eye on the debris burn, the fine of which may be no more than $50, according to state law.

The Sunset Road fire, which started May 2 in the area of Boiling Spring Lakes, is 83% contained, according to the Monday update.

“Drought conditions have persisted this spring in southeastern North Carolina, keeping vegetation primed for catching fire,” according to the Forest Service release. “The area of Boiling Spring Lakes in which the fire is burning consisted of heavy high and low brush fuels (pocosin) with a pond pine/longleaf pine overstory. Prolific organic soils throughout this area can hold ground fire for an extended period of time, particularly when dry. These factors, combined with a forecast cold front moving through the area contributed to the extreme fire behavior and continued to spread May 3.”

The fire has not damaged homes.

A temporary flight restriction remains in place until further notice. Drones are prohibited from being flown within a TFR.

The wildfire that blazed through 1,500 acres near Boiling Spring Lakes last weekend has been contained at 56%, according to a Friday morning update from the N.C. Forest Service.

Crews on Thursday made “significant progress” working to extinguish persistent hot spots around the fire perimeter, particularly in the northeast section and southern tip of the now little more than 1,300-acre fire, the Forest Service said.

This weekend’s rainy forecast “will be a great help,” Forest Service Operations Section Chief Trainee Weston Vandenabeele said in a Thursday release.

“Now’s the time for us to dig in our heels and make sure we get every bit of heat out of this fire,” he said. The rain, “and our continued efforts to put additional water on the hot spots and knock down piles of debris will pay dividends.”

The Sunset Road Fire, as it has been named, began May 2 and remains under investigation.

A temporary flight restriction, or TFR, remains in place at an altitude to 3,000 feet until further notice. Drones are prohibited from being operated within a TFR.

The Brunswick County wildfire in the area of Boiling Spring Lakes held steady at 15% containment Wednesday morning, according to the latest N.C. Forest Service update.

A drone flown by fire personnel over the northern portion of the fire, known as the Sunset Road Fire, on Tuesday detected hot spots, according to the Wednesday morning update.

“Despite the growing firefighter confidence in fire lines in the southern tip of the fire, more heat signatures were found in the northern section during the drone flight than previously anticipated, the containment percentage remains the same” at 1,331 acres, the update states.

The cause of the fire, which began last Friday and spread 1,500 acres through the weekend, remains under investigation.

As of Wednesday morning, the forest service was utilizing more than 40 personnel, six tract plow units, 10 Type 6 engines, one full track, and six UTVs with fire suppression equipment. Crews with the Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Department and other cooperators with the city, Boiling Spring Lakes Police Department, Brunswick County Emergency management, Brunswick County EMS, Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, and other various fire departments and volunteer fire departments throughout Brunswick and surrounding counties are on standby to respond to the fire as needed.

Wildland fire engines and large equipment continue to be on roads in the area of the fire and smoke is visible in the vicinity. Motorists are urged to use caution.

A temporary flight restriction, or TFR, remains in place in the area of the fire. It is illegal to fly drones within a TFR designated area.

This report has been updated

Fire crews from multiple agencies continued Monday to battle a 1,500-acre wildfire in coastal Brunswick County.

The fire that began Friday afternoon and spread Saturday as it skipped over containment lines in the area of Boiling Spring Lakes had been contained by 10% by Monday morning, according to the North Carolina Forest Service. Containment refers to sections of fire line that do not pose a risk of spreading without the need additional firefighting measures.

Brunswick County and Boiling Spring Lakes have declared states of emergency.

“We’re taking advantage of the rain that came in this morning to really work the dry areas around the fire,” Forest Service Operations Section Chief Jonathan Ambrose said in a Sunday release. “The dozer crews are steadily churning up the soil and reinforcing single fire lines to multiple lines in hopes of stopping or slowing the spread of the fire.”

No homes have been destroyed in the wildlife, which has been named the Sunset Road fire, and the American Red Cross shelter set up a local high school had closed. A sheltering team remained on standby, according to a Brunswick County release.

The wildfire prompted the call for a temporary flight restriction, or TFR, on aircraft from the ground up to and including 3,000 feet until further notice.

Flying drones within a TFR, near or around a wildlife is illegal because the unmanned craft interfere with firefighting efforts.

According to a county release, food and drink donations were no longer needed as of Sunday in Boiling Spring Lakes.

A burn ban remained in effect Monday for unincorporated areas of the county. Burning within 100 feet of a structure is prohibited in those areas. Residents in municipalities should contact their city or town office to inquire about burn bans in their area.

Motorists are asked to use caution if traveling the N.C. Highway 87 corridor and other roads in the Boiling Spring Lakes area as fire engines and large equipment remain in the area. Updates of area road closures are available online.

 A Code Orange air quality alert has been issued for the country through midnight Monday. Air quality updates for the county are available at airnow.gov.

Closures and shelter information will be provided on Brunswick County’s website as information becomes available.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday.

Update April 2: The N.C. Forest Service has lifted a ban on all open burning effective 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 2. The statewide ban went into effect March 21 due to hazardous forest fire conditions.

Original post:

Because of increased risk of fire, North Carolina Forest Service officials have issued a ban on all open burning and canceled all burning permits for the state’s 100 counties.

The ban took effect at 8 a.m. Friday. The state agency announced the ban Thursday evening, saying that will be in place until further notice.

“It is spring wildfire season in North Carolina, and we are seeing wildfire activity increase due to dry conditions,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said Thursday in a statement. “With these ongoing conditions, a statewide burn ban is necessary to reduce the risk of wildfires starting and spreading quickly. Our top priority is always to protect lives, property and forestland across the state. It is imperative that folks adhere to this burn ban until further notice.”

Local fire departments and law enforcement officers are assisting the N.C. Forest Service in enforcing the burn ban, officials said.

The burn ban does not apply to fires started within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling. County fire marshals have the authority to issue a burn ban within that distance. Brunswick, Carteret and New Hanover counties announced Friday morning local burn bans within 100 feet of any structure.

Under North Carolina law, the ban prohibits all open burning in all 100 counties in this instance, 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. 

N.C. Forest Service officials said they will continue to monitor conditions.

Residents with questions regarding a specific county are encouraged to contact their N.C. Forest Service county ranger or their county fire marshal’s office.

As wildfire season nears, all but one of North Carolina’s 100 counties are experiencing drought or abnormally dry conditions, according to the latest advisory from the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council.

Carteret, Craven, Jones, Onslow and Pamlico counties are classified as experiencing severe drought, the Thursday advisory states.

Moderate drought conditions are in 58 counties, while another 36 counties are classified as abnormally dry, according to a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality release.

“The good news is that these persistent drought and dry conditions have occurred over the winter, when water demands are lower,” Klaus Albertin, advisory committee chair, said in the release. “Farmers have seen some pasture and winter grain impacts, but it’s not the main growing season, so impacts were limited. Water supply reservoirs have been able to manage their levels and are at targets for this time of year. The deficits could set up a challenging spring if the pattern doesn’t change.” 

Areas of the state have been experiencing drought conditions since mid-October. Between that month and February, the statewide average rainfall deficit was 6.64 inches according to information provided by the National Centers for Environmental Information.

“We’ve only had a few weeks that have met or exceeded average rainfall expectations since October,” Albertin said. “As a result, we’ve been slowly building a large deficit. It was somewhat expected because of the La Niña weather pattern.” 

The North Carolina Forest Service urges North Carolinians to use common sense and best practices with outdoor fires, particularly for burning yard debris. North Carolina’s wildfire season kicks off in the spring, the first official day of which is March 20.

Opening burning in the state is allowed only in limited circumstances and only for vegetative materials, including leaves, limbs and yard debris.

Members of the drought management advisory council meet weekly and submit their drought condition recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center for updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The council’s drought map is updated each Thursday based on conditions through the previous Tuesday.

For additional information visit https://www.ncdrought.org/education. 

State officials are reminding folks that the open burning of trash, metal, plastic and all other human-made materials not only harms the environment and poses a public health risk, it’s against the law.

Careless debris burning is the leading cause of wildfires in North Carolina, and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality has issued a reminder that, “If it doesn’t grow, don’t burn it.”

Open burning is only allowed in limited circumstances and only for vegetative materials like leaves, limbs and yard debris.

The open burning rule, the state’s oldest air quality regulation, limits what can be burned outdoors and when.

The rule also stipulates the following:

• Residential yard waste and commercial land clearing burning can only occur between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. No new vegetation can be added to a burn pile after 6 p.m.
• Burning is only allowed when the air quality forecast is Code Green or Code Yellow. Burning on Code Orange, Red or Purple days is prohibited. Check your county’s air quality forecast at the online Air Quality Portal.
• Yard waste must originate at a private residence and be burned on that site. In other words, residents can only burn vegetation from their own yard — not yard waste from other homes or locations.
• Burning of yard waste is only allowed if permitted under local ordinances and only if public pickup of yard debris is not available.
• Campfires, outdoor cooking fires and bonfires are permissible, unless prohibited by local ordinances or temporary burn bans, provided that only vegetation such as firewood is burned. Fires must be controlled and never left unattended.

Amid the ongoing cleanup from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, special provisions are in place through the end of March “to help facilitate efficient and safe processing of vegetative disaster debris in impacted counties,” officials said. While grinding or chipping wood debris is preferable, guidance for burning debris is available online.

Commercial land clearing operations are also limited by the open burning rule. Land clearing is the uprooting or clearing of vegetation in connection with construction, development or mining, or the initial clearing of vegetation to enhance property value. Officials said the burning of this debris must comply with all open burning rules, including the following restrictions:

• The vegetation should originate on the site where the burn is taking place. (Land clearing waste can be transported and burned at another site up to four times a year only if specific conditions in the open burning rules are met).
• Kerosene or diesel fuel may be used to start a land-clearing fire, but no other man-made materials can be burned.
• Land clearing burn piles must be at least 500 feet from occupied structures and at least 250 feet from any public road when the prevailing winds are blowing toward the road. Information on wind direction is available from the National Weather Service.

The Division of Air Quality enforces the state open burning rule, partnering with local law enforcement, firefighters and fire marshals, and the N.C. Forest Service to ensure compliance. Violators can be fined up to $25,000 per violation per day. To submit an open burning complaint, contact the DEQ Regional Office that serves your county. Anonymous complaints can be submitted via an online tool.

The N.C Forest Service may require an open burning permit before certain fires are lit, including fires in protected areas. The Division of Air Quality does not issue burn permits. Burn permits are available through the N.C. Forest Service’s online application at ncforestservice.gov/burnpermit or by contacting a local N.C. Forest Service county office or local permitting agent. For more information, contact the N.C. Forest Service.

County and municipal governments may have more stringent burning restrictions than state law. Contact your local officials to learn what burning rules may be in place where you live.

The open burning rule includes exceptions for certain special burns, including firefighter training exercises and prescribed burns.

Second part in a series.

While wildfires are almost always the result of human activity, climate change is altering wildfires and how they’re managed.

North Carolina Forest Service Public Information Officer Philip Jackson said that while nearly all wildfires in the state correlate with human activity, climate change is affecting the nature of wildfires different ways.

First, the way precipitation falls is changing and becoming more extreme, Assistant State Climatologist Corey Davis said in an interview. “Instead of rain evenly spread out throughout a season or year, heavier rainfall is happening on fewer days with longer dry spells in between.”

Warming temperatures are an important part, too, and are making dry spells more severe and prone to wildfire activity. This has been especially apparent within the past few years. Last fall and again in June of this year, the state slipped into drought after just a few weeks of hot, dry weather.

“At both times, parts of the state went more than 20 days in a row without a drop of rainfall all while we were dealing with unseasonably warm temperatures — above 100 degrees in some areas earlier this summer,” Davis said. “Just like in your backyard garden, forests and other fire-prone ecosystems dry out in a hurry during times like that, and that brings the threat of wildfires.”

The State Climate Office, based in Raleigh, uses a handful of tools to monitor climate change and its effects, including measuring and archiving weather observations from more than 350 weather stations across the state, almost half of which have at least 30 years of historical observations.

Davis said this helps with understanding not only what current conditions are like, but also how conditions are changing, “and we’re consistently seeing more extremes in all directions.”

Most recently, that has been record rainfall totals in from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Earlier this summer, conditions were extreme heat and dry weather. Davis’ office can use that kind of historical data to add context to those events. He cited Greenville as an example: The Pitt County city saw its longest streak of dry weather — 23 consecutive days without rainfall — since the fall of 2000.

The office is involved with research and partnerships that are helping explore climate change and its impacts, as well.

“Heat-mapping campaigns have shown us how much hotter certain parts of cities can get depending on their land use and land cover. There are applications there for forests, too, since we’ve found at a very micro scale on NC State’s campus, for instance, how bare ground and a lack of tree cover can affect surface temperatures,” he said.

That data, research and those partnerships all came together in the North Carolina Climate Science Report that the state climate office helped compile in 2020.

The report includes some key findings and projections related to wildfires, including a projected 300% or more increase in the number of weeks with the risk of very large fires, or burning more than 5,000 hectares – nearly 12,400 acres – by the middle of this century, compared to the end of the last century.

“And it notes that increases in temperatures and associated drying rates are very likely, with future droughts very likely to be warmer with a higher chance of wildfires,” Davis said.

Temperatures across the state are trending warmer in all four seasons, but it’s especially remarkable how much winters have been warming. According to the Climate Trends Plotter tool, the winter average temperatures in eastern North Carolina have been increasing by 0.5 to 0.75°F per decade over the past 50 years, and by more than 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit per decade in most areas since the year 2000.

“That’s having the effect of shrinking our winter seasons, and on the shoulders especially in February, we’re seeing more spring-like weather. That’s threatening to begin our spring fire seasons even earlier, and have them last even longer,” Davis said.

“We also see those changes reflected in future projections,” he continued, siting one study that projects a 74% increase in the area burned by lightning-caused wildfires in North Carolina between 2011 and 2060. “That’s a product of both longer fire seasons and warmer temperatures throughout the spring that make fuels more susceptible to burn.”

Other research shows more than a 200% increase in the number of days with suitable conditions for very large wildfires, which burn more than 12,000 acres, along the state’s coastline.

“Historically, these events have been very rare since they require all of those weather ingredients — extreme dryness in place with warm temperatures, low humidity, and high winds — for fires to grow that large in our region. But they’re expected to happen more often in the future,” Davis said.

Prescribed burns and climate change

Jackson explained that prescribed burns benefit forests and wildlife while reducing the risk and impacts of future catastrophic wildfires. The goal for these hazard reduction burns is to reduce the understory shrubs, vines, woody debris, needles and leaves that may be available to burn during unplanned wildfires.

“We will burn it in a planned manner that is of lower intensity, eliminating those fuel sources, helping prevent future wildfires or minimizing impacts from future wildfires. Low intensity prescribed fire also helps manage forestlands where many species require frequent burns to establish and thrive,” Jackson said.

The Forest Service also uses prescribed fire for site preparation purposes, also known as site-prep burns.

“These prescribed burns occur after harvesting to assist with reforestation activities. It allows for planting natural regeneration of tree seedlings, it’s less invasive and damaging than mechanical site preparation and is sometimes conducted as a pre-treatment to tree planting,” Jackson said.

Davis said that there’s been a lot of success with prescribed burns in North Carolina, and even though there’s still wildfires, those events are typically more manageable and less severe because of proactive prescribed burning practices, “But it’s already getting tougher to find windows to do this burning, and that problem is expected to become even worse in the future,” for a few reasons.

One, North Carolina is a fast-growing, fast-developing state, and we’ve got more acreage classified as wildland-urban interface than any state in the country, Davis explained.

“That means when we want to do burns in these natural areas, it’s more likely that people will notice it, so land and fire managers have to be very careful about burning when the wind direction is just right and making sure burns don’t linger overnight, when smoke can get trapped near the ground,” Davis said. “But climate change is also affecting our ability to burn. We’re getting fewer of those Goldilocks days when it’s not too wet or not too dry to have a successful burn, and the rapid changes from wet to dry patterns are making it tough to anticipate those periods.”

Historically, the most common times for burning in the spring and summer are becoming less suitable for burning as conditions then are hotter and drier, Davis said.

He explained that a study of the Southeastern United States looked at the suitability of prescribed burning based on projected weather conditions, and it found a sharp decrease in the number of suitable days in the transition seasons, or spring and fall, with the summer expected to become almost entirely unsuitable for burning by the end of the century.

“That’s largely driven by the warming temperatures, which makes the atmosphere less stable, the vertical transmission of heat and dispersion of smoke less predictable, and fuels drier so that they burn hotter and flames spread more quickly,” Davis said. “That’s all adding up to a big concern that we’ll see more frequent and more severe wildfires, with fewer opportunities to manage our forests in North Carolina to help avoid those events.”

Jackson said that the Forest Service predetermines weather and fuel parameters needed in order to safely execute a prescribed burn operation.

“If the weather doesn’t produce the ideal conditions that we need to safely carry out a burn, we simply won’t do it,” Jackson said, explaining that he has driven two hours to Stokes County, geared up in full personal protective equipment along with a dozen other personnel to conduct a prescribed burn, “only to cancel it before ever lighting a torch and putting fire on the ground. The weather either gives us what we need to carry out a burn safely, or it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t, we simply live to fight another day.”

First of two parts

As the fall wildfire season begins in North Carolina, the lead agency that responds to these uncontrolled fires in natural areas encourages residents be vigilant while burning outside.

“I’d like to remind folks about the importance of exercising caution with all outdoor fires, especially yard debris burns,” North Carolina Forest Service Division Public Information Officer Philip Jackson told Coastal Review.

Human activity causes 99% of North Carolina’s wildfires. Of that 99%, nearly half are caused by careless debris burning and escaped yard debris burns, which is the leading cause of wildfires across the state each year, Jackson said. The other 1% of uncontrolled fires are caused by natural ignition such as lightning.

“Fire activity has remained low over the last few weeks due to tropical storms and other rain events. However, as is the case most year’s during the month of October, we expect October to dry out some over the coming weeks, increasing fire activity,” Jackson said Wednesday.

Assistant State Climatologist Corey Davis told Coastal Review that there are three main components that each make for ideal wildfire conditions in eastern North Carolina: the time of year, the weather, and the ecosystem.

From late February through mid-April, grasses and other vegetation are coming out of their winter dormancy. Before the vegetation becomes fully green, they’re still pretty dry and flammable.

Deciduous trees are budding during this time, as well. But again, before the leaves have fully emerged, the leaves and trucks are fairly flammable. Without those leaves, they don’t offer as much shade for the vegetation beneath them, which helps it dry out even more, Davis explained.

These circumstances lead to the weather component.

“Warm and sunny days during the spring can cause environmental conditions to dry out more quickly, and as we receive more direct sunlight throughout the season, that can also cause fast-drying conditions in our forest fuels, which includes that not-yet-green vegetation and any dead woody material or litter covering the ground,” Davis said.

In addition to having those summer-like characteristics such as hot days with lots of sunshine, the spring is ultimately a transition season, and one feature of the winter climate that can carry over into the spring is lower relative humidity. “When we get one of those less humid air masses in place during the spring, especially after a warm period, then those dry fuels can be especially crispy and ready to burn,” Davis explained.

Last, there are a few different types of ecosystems in eastern North Carolina where we typically expect to see wildfires. Much of the southern and central coastal plain was once covered by native wiregrass pine savannas, where fires are a natural and common feature, happening every two to five years.

At low intensity, these fires are beneficial since they clear out competing vegetation and thin out the canopy so that native species like Carolina wiregrass and longleaf pines can thrive.

“Over the past century or so, the prevalence of these longleaf pine ecosystems has drastically declined across the region, Davis explained. This is because the trees were cut down initially for timber and naval stores such as tar, pitch, and turpentine, and more recently because of conversion to agricultural lands and other development.

“Where we do still have wiregrass ecosystems, the longleaf pines have been replaced by less fire-tolerant species such as loblolly, so fires may not be as effective. Historical fire suppression in these areas means that more fuels have built up within them, so when they burn now, it tends to be at higher intensity, which is both less beneficial and more likely to become difficult to control or contain,” Davis said.

The other major fire-prone ecosystems in eastern North Carolina are the pocosins near the coastline in places like the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties.

“These are fairly low-lying areas where the water table is usually very high, often submerging the soils and creating a peat swamp sort of environment. But during times of drought, the water table drops and that highly organic soil dries out, which makes it very easy to burn,” Davis said.

These types of wildfires are tough to contain because of how remote and inaccessible many of these locations are, and because the fire can burn into the ground and consume the soil itself.

“There’s no easy way to extinguish them except for flooding the soil with as much water as possible or waiting for help from the rain so the water table rises again. Until that happens, these fires can burn and smolder for weeks or months, all while releasing lots of smoke that can be carried by the winds to different corners of the state,” Davis said.

“For those reasons, these pocosin areas have historically seen our state’s largest wildfires, and continue to be an area of concern any time there’s a springtime dry spell,” such as the April 2023 fire in the Croatan National Forest.

“Putting all of that together, the perfect conditions for wildfires in eastern North Carolina would be in late March or early April following a month or so of unseasonably warm and dry weather.”

Davis continued that with vegetation either dormant, dead or not green just yet, the environment would be highly flammable.

“The spark for fires could come from human activity like debris burns, or on a larger scale from lightning strikes along a strong cold frontal passage. Behind that front, a dry and less humid air mass would move in, and gusty winds would spread any newly ignited fires quickly across the landscape,” he said.

By late September, “these same trends from the spring happen again, but in reverse. Our temperatures can remain relatively warm well into October, and once trees drop their leaves, they ramp up the fuel loading at the surface,” according to the climate office.

So far in 2024, the Forest Service has responded to more than 3,500 wildfires for roughly 13,000 acres, Jackson with the Forest Service said.

The 2023 fall wildfire season was extremely active with nearly 2,000 wildfires statewide, more than 1,200 of which burned in November 2023 alone, Jackson said. “That was during our traditional fall wildfire season where fire risk is elevated, but we had also experienced prolonged drought conditions for much of the fall last year.”

“This is consistent and on pace with what we typically see each year. We usually experience between 4,500 and 5,500 wildfires annually. Frequency and duration are heavily influenced by weather conditions and time of year,” Jackson said, adding that over the last two months, “we’ve seen 119 wildfires for less than 50 acres. That’s considered to be rather quiet in terms of new wildfire starts and minimal acreage, largely due to the amount of rain our state has received recently.”

Jackson said that there’s a common misconception that wildfires are only an issue in the Western United States.

“The American South experiences more wildfires each year than any other region in the U.S.,” Jackson said. “While wildfires in the Western U.S. tend to be more severe while consuming larger chunks of acreage, wildfires in the Southeast U.S. are becoming more common.”

North Carolina had the third most wildfires nationally in 2022, behind only Texas and California. That same year, Texas, California, North Carolina, Georgia and Oklahoma accounted for nearly half of the total wildfires in the U.S.

The wildland-urban interface a big reason why. The wildland-urban interface, or WUI, is where development meets forestland. Three of the top four states with the most homes in the wildland urban interface are states located in the South, with North Carolina in the lead.

“North Carolina remains the leading state in the U.S. relative to number of acres in the wildland urban interface. As North Carolina’s population continues to grow, we’ll likely see more people living and recreating in the wildland urban interface,” Jackson said. 

With almost all wildfires in the state correlating with human activity, as the population increases, more people living and recreating in the wildland urban interface, potentially resulting in an increase in the number of wildfires our state experiences.

Statewide, between 2010 and 2020, 41,551 wildfires burned 399,125 acres, and from 1990 to 2010, North Carolina saw an increase of 3,005,048 acres in the wildland-urban interface.

“North Carolina’s WUI Risk Index estimates 2.3 million acres are at risk for moderate to major impacts from wildfires to people and their homes,” Jackson said.

After a period of high and very fire danger along parts of the coastal plain, the entire region is now facing a moderate risk with lower risks forecast for next week, thanks to recent and expected rains.

Still, officials in Brunswick County announced Friday that a burn ban is in effect, and North Carolina Forest Service officials are discouraging outdoor burning as hot, dry conditions persist across much of the state.

The burn ban does not apply to any open burning permits issued by the North Carolina Forest Service or permitted fireworks displays scheduled for the week of July 4.

“Outdoor burning and at-home fireworks are discouraged until your area receives substantial, soaking rain,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, who also noted Thursday that agricultural growth conditions continue to deteriorate statewide. “Fire danger is high. Fuels can ignite quickly, and unattended fires are likely to escape and spread in a hurry. We understand fireworks are a major part of Independence Day celebrations and festivities, and that’s why we’re encouraging folks to attend professional fireworks displays rather than conducting their own.”

Brunswick County officials noted the hot weather, drought conditions and high fire danger index rating. Current and future weather forecast models indicate conditions that are not favorable for open burning. City or town residents should contact their municipal officials related burning.

The burn ban was issued for the unincorporated areas of Brunswick County effective 8 a.m. Friday, June 28 and until 8 a.m. Monday, July 8. All burning within 100 feet of an occupied structure is banned.

The county referenced safety tips available from the fire marshal’s office.

For questions about the burn ban, call 910.253.2021.

Check your danger

Residents across North Carolina can check their local daily fire danger via North Carolina State University’s interactive map. The state map is based on rating used as a National Fire Danger Rating System parameter describing environmental conditions that can could cause fires to ignite and spread.

The rating values are averaged across the North Carolina Forest Service’s multicounty Fire Danger Rating Areas. These areas are regions with similar topography, vegetation and climate.

While there was not a state issued burn ban in place Friday, one may be needed if dry conditions worsen or fail to improve, officials said this week. Continue to check for burn bans or fire restrictions in your area.

“Anytime we’re experiencing prolonged dry conditions and increased fire danger, the conversation as to whether or not to implement a burn ban, when to implement it and where, is taking place,” said North Carolina Forest Service Assistant Commissioner Greg Hicks. “Those conversations have been happening for a while now and will continue to happen as we look at conditions on a day-to-day basis.”

Residents with questions regarding a specific county can contact their NCFS county ranger’s office, their county fire marshal’s office or local fire department to ensure you are not violating any open burning regulations.

A Carteret County commissioner has been cited for a debris burn that scorched more than 500 acres in the Down East community of Atlantic.

The North Carolina Forest Service on Tuesday cited Commissioner Christopher James Chadwick, 53, of Stacy, for violating North Carolina General Statute 14-140.1. The infraction carries a fine of not more than $50.

According to the statute, any person, firm, corporation or other legal entity who burns any brush, grass or other material that puts at risk any property without “keeping and maintaining a careful watchman in charge of the burning,” shall be guilty of an infraction.

“Fire escaping from the brush, grass, or other material while burning shall be prima facie evidence of violation of this provision,” according to the statute.

Chadwick told Coastal Review Friday that he had obtained a permit about three weeks ago for burning trees and debris from a tornado that struck Atlantic earlier this year. The debris was contained within Chadwick’s roughly 50 acres adjacent to Marine Corps Outlying Field Atlantic and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land.

“I was watching it myself, and I had a helper watch too, and, you know, we haven’t done any burning for three weeks,” Chadwick said. “We had a couple of hot spots that would pop up here and there, and we’d take the excavator and put them out with sand on top of them, and then there was no smoke, nowhere for probably a week and a half, two weeks, until Sunday when the fire started.”

He said once the flames reached the neighboring wooded areas, “it just went like gasoline.”

Chadwick said the area had not seen a prescribed burn in about 15 years. “This reinforces the importance of managing the forest,” he said.

The commissioner praised the firefighters, Forest Service and Marine Corps for their role in responding to the fire. Chadwick said he was thankful nobody was hurt and that the fire wasn’t worse.

“I’m sorry the incident happened. We thought we were doing all the right things with the permit and the watchmen, and certainly it’s been so dry and blowing hard past two or three weeks, we haven’t done any burning,” Chadwick said.

BOLIVIA – The Brunswick County Fire Marshal has issued a burn ban for the county’s for the unincorporated areas, effective 11 a.m. Tuesday until 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Officials cited data from the National Weather Service Wilmington Forecast Office, saying Brunswick County is experiencing low relative humidity and gusty winds in addition to a high fire danger index rating from the North Carolina Forest Service.

“The current and future weather forecast models indicate conditions that are not favorable for open burning,” according to the county’s announcement. All burning within 100 feet of any structure is prohibited.

The burn ban does not apply to any open burning permits issued by the North Carolina Forest Service or by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for land clearing or air curtain incinerators.

Town residents should contact their municipal officials related to the burn ban.

Officials in the southeastern part of the state are set to reopen a nature park that a wildfire forced to close earlier this week.

The Brunswick Nature Park at 2601 River Road SE, Winnabow, will reopen to the public Friday, county officials said. The park will resume its regular hours of operation, 8 a.m. to dusk daily.

The 911-acre park was closed Wednesday because of the wildfire that affected property within its boundaries. Officials said that as of 10 a.m. on Thursday, the fire was no longer active.

The wildfire burned a total of 80 acres. The North Carolina Forest Service is investigating what started the blaze.

County staff inspected the park and trails for any safety concerns this week. No injuries nor impacts to park visitors were reported and no structures on park property were affected, officials said.

County officials remind park visitors to follow the rules when visiting Brunswick County parks.

Fire is good for forests. See for yourself.

The Nature Conservancy invites you to explore the Green Swamp Nature Preserve from the comforts of your own home and see firsthand how thousands of acres are regenerating after burning in a wildfire last June.

The conservancy recently launched an interactive map that takes the user deep into the forest to reveal new life emerging in the weeks and months since a wildfire burned nearly 16,000 acres.

The story of the fire in the Green Swamp has the eye-catching title “Pulp Road Wildfire. 15,642 acres burned – 15,642 acres revitalized.”

Using ArcGIS StoryMaps, an online tool created by American geographic information system technology software company Esri, Emma Gwyn, a GIS stewardship intern for The Nature Conservancy — North Carolina in Wilmington, created the story of how the fire benefited the preserve.

Visitors of the site can click on different areas of a map of the preserve to learn about the variety of unique plants and wildlife that call the area home, watch drone videos, view before-and-after images, and a 91-day time-lapse of a pocosin wetland regenerating after the fire.

“It’s still there,” said Nathan Burmester, the conservancy’s coastal plain stewardship manager. “It’s flourishing. It’s better than it was before.”

That may come as a surprise to those who assumed much of the 17,424-acre preserve, known for its Venus flytraps, pitcher plants, and decorative orchids, lay in a charred, dead heap following the June wildfire.

But fire is just what the preserve’s two main ecosystems – longleaf pine savannah and pocosin wetland – need to thrive.

As explained in the virtual tour, longleaf pine savanna need low-intensity fires every two to five years. Pocosin, which are freshwater shrub wetlands of the southeastern coastal plains, require high-intensity fires every eight to 20 years.

“Even though a high-intensity fire in the pocosin may look catastrophic, the system recovers incredibly quickly,” according to the conservancy.

“It’s always one of our messages that we’re trying to get out is the importance of controlled burning,” Burmester said. “Part of my goal for making this was to have more education for the public.”

Whether sparked by a cigarette discarded from a car window or a lightning strike, forests are going to burn “someday, one way or another,” he said.

“When that happens, we don’t get to pick the day. We don’t get to pick the weather. So, we’re always trying to get out the importance of controlled burning,” Burmester said.

The Green Swamp fire began as a prescribed burn by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission on June 14 around Pulp Road in Brunswick County.

Related: Green Swamp now turning green again after burn, wildfire

The commission had a permit to burn 400 acres, but the blaze spread after the fire jumped its line and quickly spread into areas that had not been burned in years.

“The smoke was so intense that it sparked thunderstorms nearby!” according to the conservancy.

Winds pushed ash more than 30 miles away to Wilmington and air quality warnings were issued throughout the region before June 29 when the fire was fully contained.

The fire left a black and green patchwork-like landscape across the preserve. Green areas are those that were either too wet or had been burned in a series of controlled fires prescribed within the past year.

These areas served as “critical refuges” for wildlife during the June wildfire.

Burmester said that the preserve was last burned in its entirety 68 years ago.

That equated to 68 years of fuel for some areas of the preserve. There are no roads in the swamp to break the land into smaller chunks. The shrubby, wet pocosin can’t be sliced with fire lines.

“They’re extremely challenging to burn because they’re large pockets of non-divided fuels,” Burmester said.

He said that experts from various agencies, including Wildlife Resources and forest service officials, have begun talks on how they can turn the June wildfire into an opportunity to administer controlled burns in the future.

In the meantime, he encourages people to engage in the Green Swamp fire story.

“The tool’s out there so anything you want to do and show in a map feature is there, which is really cool,” Burmester said. “Enjoy and be creative.”

Officials urge motorists in the northeastern part of the state to drive with caution if they encounter heavy smoke from a wildfire burning on private and federal lands in Tyrrell County.

Because drivers have reported heavy pockets of smoke in Tyrrell, Hertford and Gates counties and moderate smoke in Currituck and Camden counties, North Carolina Department of Transportation advised travelers on Monday morning to be aware of the possibility of suddenly reduced visibility on roads across inland, eastern parts of the state.

The 5,200-acre fire was 34% contained as of 4 p.m. Sunday. Firefighting crews were continuing efforts to improve containment lines and monitoring conditions, North Carolina Forest Service officials said Sunday. There are no injuries and no structures threatened at this time and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

When encountering heavy smoke or fog, state officials recommend drivers do the following:

• Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination.
• Use low-beam headlights and fog lights. Never use high-beam lights, as they cause glare and can make it difficult to see in front of you.
• Leave extra distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
• Follow the lane markers with your eyes to ensure you are staying in the proper lane.
• Turn on hazard lights and find a safe place to pull off the road if visibility is reduced to zero.

Risks of heavy smoke are higher at night, when darkness combines with cooler air to hold smoke closer to the ground.

Forest Service officials remind the public to keep drones away from wildfires. Flying a drone near or around a wildfire compromises the safety of pilots and interferes with firefighting efforts.

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.

HARKERS ISLAND — The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center is hosting a wildlife and nature photography workshop Friday.

Led by photographers Gordon Allen and Dan Williams, the workshop includes both classroom and field experiences with instruction on learning how to dial in your camera for sharper images and what it takes to capture wildlife and nature in a different light through your camera. The workshop is designed for all skill levels with helpful hints for even the most experienced photographers as well as beginners.

Attendees are to gather at 8:30 a.m. Friday at the Core Sound museum with coffee and pastries and time to view different types of photography on exhibition. Class begins at 9 a.m. and will conclude around 4:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided at noon before a trip to Cape Lookout National Seashore (weather permitting) for field time in the afternoon.

Fees cover instruction, supplies, food and ferry – $125 for museum members; $150 for nonmembers with full payment needed at registration.

Register online or at either museum location, the museum at 1785 Island Road, Harkers Island, or 806 Arendell St. Morehead City. 

The wildfire within Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County is 65% contained, North Carolina Forest Service officials said Wednesday.

In the morning update, officials said firefighting personnel had held the Juniper Road Two Fire to 1,226 acres over the last several days. Crews were to continue monitoring the weather because of the significant heat lingering around the fire.

The fire was caused by a lightning strike Aug. 2 well within the interior of the game lands, the Forest Service said Aug. 12.

The state Forest Service has 81 personnel assigned to the wildfire and a low ground pressure track vehicle assisting in mop up operations. As fire containment continues to increase, some resources will demobilize, officials said.

A temporary flight restriction remains in effect in the vicinity of the fire. The temporary flight restriction applies to all civilian aircraft, manned and unmanned, within 5 miles of the fire and remains in place until aviation support is no longer needed.