Mainland wildfire doubled in size overnight By IRENE NOLAN

By IRENE NOLAN

By IRENE NOLAN

A wildfire burning on the Dare-Hyde County border doubled in size Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning had U.S. 264 between Stumpy Point and Engelhard closed to all but emergency traffic for about 30 miles.

The Whipping Creek fire, fed by gusty northeast winds and low humidity, was this morning reported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be burning over more than 9,600 acres of private, state, and federal land on the Dare-Hyde county line just south of the bombing range.

The Fish and Wildlife service reported that the perimeter of the fire was about 30 percent contained this morning, and that firefighters today anticipated rapid growth to the south and slow continued growth to the northeast and east along U.S. 264.  

No communities are threatened, but Highway 264 remains closed for public safety. A
detour in place sends motorists on U.S. 264 onto northbound N.C. 94 to Columbia, and then east on U.S. 64. Drivers on U.S. 64 need to go south on N.C. 94 to get back to U.S. 264 east of Swan Quarter.

Stumpy Point residents are allowed to proceed past the roadblock at the U.S. 64/264 intersection with proper identification showing a Stumpy Point address.

According to USFWS, the Whipping Creek fire began on Monday, April 18. At about 2 p.m., two small fires were spotted on the Hyde County side of the Dare-Hyde county line, just northwest of U.S. 264. By evening, the fires had merged into a 25-plus acre fire that grew to 200-plus acres before dark. The fire started on private land south of both the Dare Bombing Range and Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

By Tuesday morning, April 19, the wildfire had reached an estimated size of 650-plus acres, had moved onto Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the Dare Bombing Range, and was being managed under a unified command by the North Carolina Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. At the end of the day Tuesday, the fire had grown to more than 4,000 acres.

The Whipping Creek fire has burned private land and portions of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, the Dare Bombing Range, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission game land, and lands managed by The Nature Conservancy.

For updates on the fire, visit http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4691/#  or the USFWS in North Carolina Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USFWS.NC/.