UPDATE: Hatteras and Ocracoke are less smoky, but concern now is ground fire
The Pain Bay wildfire that has been burning since Thursday, May 5, on the Dare County mainland is currently burning 25,678 acres and is estimated to be 55 percent contained.
The fire is burning on federal lands – The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the Dare County Bombing Range, which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. However, the fire is close to the village of Stumpy Point.
The heavy, acrid smoke that plagued Hatteras and Ocracoke the first of this week has mostly cleared up in the past few days with wind shifts.
According to the national incident team that is in charge of fighting the fire, the biggest concern at this point is ground fire — fire burning in the organic soil beneath the surface. Ground fire near containment lines could flare up with wind shifts and escape containment.
The Pains Bay Fire began in wetlands between Pains and Parched Corn bays on the south side of U.S. Highway 264, just south of Stumpy Point. For the first two days, the fire spread in all directions but burned exclusively on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Late in the day on Saturday, May 7, the fire made a run to the north, entering the Dare County Range.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. However, investigators have not been able to access the point of origin yet due to the heat.
Low relative humidity, extremely dry and dense fuels, and gusty winds have caused the rapid spread of the fire. Once the fire crossed U.S. 264, it entered into a large block of land with few roads and deep deposits of peat, which can burn underground for months.
The primary focus since the beginning has been to protect the village of Stumpy Point and its 200-plus residents. On several occasions, the fire has threatened Stumpy Point. On one occasion, two homes were evacuated as a precaution during a burnout when the wildfire was approaching. Protection measures have been successful to date.
Dare County Emergency Management took inventory of community needs, in the event an evacuation was ordered. However, as a whole, the community has been unaffected, except by traffic, smoke, and stress.
Smoke has been an issue for areas much farther from the fire, including Raleigh and Norfolk.
Firefighters are currently “plumbing” the ground fire on the north perimeter of the fire, west of Stumpy Point. This will involve laying almost two miles of pipe and setting up sprinklers to wet the soil. The weather forecast for today and tomorrow should support this effort.
Currently, there are 202 people assigned to the fire. Other resources are several helicopters (including one “heavy”) and airplanes, dozers with blades and plows, and engines to pump water.
Agencies involved in fighting the fire and support efforts include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; North Carolina Division of Forest Resources; U.S. Forest Service; National Park Service; Department of Defense – Air Force/Navy; Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs; Stumpy Point, Manns Harbor, Colington, and Roanoke Island volunteer fire departments, Dare County Emergency Management Services, and state forestry agencies, including staff from Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Montana, and Virginia.
Smoke patterns are expected to change beginning Friday afternoon and continue through the weekend. A high pressure system should move offshore and be replaced by a low pressure system approaching from the west. Winds are forecast to shift southerly.
Inland conditions will improve while the northern Outer Banks and communities near the fire will experience more smoke. Conditions should improve for the Raleigh-Durham area. A 60 percent chance of thunderstorms is predicted for Saturday.
An air quality advisory for Dare County remains in effect today. And a 10-mile section of U.S. 264 is still closed from Stumpy Point to Engelhard.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The incident command website for up-to-date fire information and new photos is http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2218/
Live satellite imagery of the smoke moving over our area can be found at http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/wfo/mhx/flash-vis.html
For more information about state issued air quality alerts, go to www.ncair.org/airaware/forecast/
Click here for previous Island Free Press articles on the wildfire.
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