Controlled burn scheduled for Friday at Moores Creek National Battlefield

CURRIE, NC (WWAY) — Moores Creek National Battlefield will be conducting a controlled burn in the park on Friday.

The burn will begin at approximately 10:00 a.m. and will last approximately three hours, with residual smoke and small spot fires continuing through the rest of the day and evening.

The areas affected include the Savannah behind the visitor center and the area located on the right-hand side as you enter the front gate of the park. This area borders Hwy 210 on one side, Moores Creek Missionary Baptist Church on another side, and park roads and buildings on the other two sides.

According to a release, Moores Creek conducts these burns annually for several reasons:

1. By applying prescribed fire on a regular and rotational basis, the park reduces the amount of fuel loads that exist in the park that, if left untreated, would pile up and cause a major forest fire, posing serious threats to the park and neighboring lands.

2. By applying prescribed fire on a regular and rotational basis, the park is transforming the landscape back to what it may have looked like historically in 1776 at the time of the battle. This measure reduces the amount of invasive and weedy trees that tend to grow in areas that are not maintained by fires which naturally occurred historically.

Planned prescribed fire areas at Moores Creek National Battlefield