Fire crews stress fire safety after second brush fire this week

SUPPLY, NC (WWAY) — Earlier today, the North Carolina Forest Service and firefighters battled a fire in the southern end of Brunswick County. Around sixty acres of area burned today in Supply. While the fire is now contained, fire risk is still high in our area.

Around 12:30 a call was made about a fire on Prospect Road in Supply. That’s when crews responded to a brush fire quickly spread through the area.

“We saw the blaze and of course it was the hottest where it was the whitest and it was just awful,” Elaine Wright, a neighbor in the area, said. “It was just awful.”

Some homes nearby were evacuated and a few roads were closed, but there was no reports of damage to homes or injuries. Fire crews from several different areas plowed multiple fire lines around the fire to contain it. Wright says they were lucky things turned out okay.

“People need to be real careful this time of year burning.” Wright said.

This is the second brush fire this week that forced evacuations of homes. Bill Walker with the North Carolina Forest Service says people need to consider the heightened risk of fire.

“This time of year it’s a little bit more critical because the weather is in constant flux,” Walker said. “The weather is 100% the most important thing to pay attention to.”

He adds that the sea breeze winds also contribute to problems as the direction of the winds change frequently. Leland police are citing a man for a fire that destroyed a family’s home in Mallory Creek Plantation. They say he was burning brush near a property without watching it. Walker suggests that the safest thing you can do is get a burning permit and speak with professionals.

“Always just be cautious and careful,” Walker said. “Fire is nothing to be played with. Please, if you don’t know what you’re doing, call the forest service or your local fire department and anybody you talk to there will be more than happy to help out any way they can.”

The cause of this fire is still under investigation.