UPDATE: Pender wildfire contained

HAMPSTEAD, NC (WWAY) — For the second spring in a row, there is a wildfire burning in the Holly Shelter Game Land. This time it’s significantly smaller and continues to weaken.

A North Carolina Forest Service spokeswoman says the nearly 500-acre fire is now 100 percent contained. Firefighters believe it started as a property owner’s controlled burn near Hampstead. Crews from Pender, New Hanover and Onslow Counties helped control the fire.

“We were able to get on it with a lot of aircraft yesterday, a lot of tractors. We had 8 tractor plow units on it,” spokeswoman Laura Prevatte said. “We had all kinds of aircraft that we didn’t have available last year.”

No homes are in the path of the fire at this point. No one has been asked to evacuate.

The combination of gusty winds and very low humidity makes for a dangerous situation when it comes to fire. People are advised not to burn in these conditions.