UPDATE (5:45 p.m.) — According to Pender County EMS and Fire Chief Woody Sullivan, the Holly Shelter Game Land fire is “almost fully contained” due to less severe winds than forecasted and due to the efforts of the N.C. Forest Service to suppress the fire.
“It’s looking more and more like we’re not going to need to do a declaration of emergency,” Sullivan said. “It’s not a hundred percent eliminated until the fire’s completely out, but with the weather not coming in like we thought it was going to and picking up the wind, and all the advances the Forest Service has made — they put a lot of resources on this fire today.”
He also said that although commissioners voted to issue a declaration of emergency, it wouldn’t have been executed until the call was made to do so.
“The NC Forest Service has done a phenomenal job today,” Sullivan said. “Those guys are rock stars. Their aircraft, their tractor operators — they were plowing and hammering at this thing all day and we almost have this thing fully contained.“
PENDER COUNTY — The Pender County Board of Commissioners has voted unanimously to soon issue a state of emergency and a protection action plan, which would include a shelter for potentially evacuated residents, regarding a controlled fire in the Holly Shelter Game Land that has gotten out of control.
There is currently a roughly 2,700-acre wildfire located west of Lodge Road within the game land, on the northeast end towards Buckshot according to a release from the North Carolina Forest Service sent at 11:30 p.m. Friday. If winds shift as forecasted this afternoon, Pender County EMS and Fire Chief Woody Sullivan said 600 to 700 people could be forced to evacuate.
“The wildfire is confined within a network of well-established roads within the interior of game lands property, however, due to fuel availability for reburn, the fire has potential to spread,” according to the N.C. Forest Service.
County commissioners voted during an emergency meeting held over a conference call at approximately 1:10 p.m. Four commissioners on the call voted unanimously for both emergency measures.
Pender County EMS and Fire Chief Woody Sullivan said he recently flew over the fire and estimated it to be 50 percent contained, but warned that an incoming cold front with high winds could cause the fire to move northeast and jump over Lodge Road, on the eastern side of the fire, and toward Buck Shot Road. He said winds were predicted at 15-to-18 miles per hour with gusts of 30-to-35 miles per hour.
“If it crosses over and heads up that way … that would give us a two-hour window to evacuate along that road,” Sullivan said.
If the fire breaks its containment boundary due to “aggressive and shifting Southwest to Northwest winds,” according to the N.C. Forestry Service, areas to the east of the fire “may be in the path of significant wildfire activity.” This includes the northern area of Hampstead near Pinnacle Parkway.
If winds shift as forecasted, that would present fire crews with the worse-case scenario, according to Sullivan. If winds shift toward the east, he said “probably somewhere around 600 to 700 folks [who] we would have to evacuate this afternoon, this evening, or tomorrow based on wind direction.”
“Late this afternoon, that wind’s supposed to shift out of the northwest, which is a worse-case scenario for us because that fire would be pushed back down, back towards Stag Drive, Old Whitfield Road and Pinnacle Parkway.”
He said his department was currently writing an action plan, including setting up an evacuation shelter, and preparing crews and equipment in Hampstead.
“In case anything happens, we can deploy rapidly,” Sullivan said.
The N.C. Forest Service said although evacuations have not been ordered at this time, Pender County officials are monitoring the wildfire and “have been making plans to activate response efforts should the need arise.”
“Residents and businesses in the area should monitor communications outlets carefully as the status of this wildfire may change over the course of the day,” according to the N.C. Forest Service.
The fire is being managed by the N.C. Forest Service Type 3 Incident Management Team, composed of several tractor plow and engine strike teams, according to the release. This includes 48 N.C. Forest Service personnel from the coastal region of the state “dispatched to the Tram Road/Grassy Road Fire.”
“All public is advised to stay out of the Holly Shelter Game Lands area to provide safe working conditions for ground personnel. All public is also advised to discontinue any unauthorized drone activity in the area to provide safe air space for Forest Service aircraft,” according to the release.
Those with questions or concerns are asked to call the Pender County Emergency Operations Center at (910) 259-1210.
At 8:50 p.m. Friday night, Pender County issued the following statement from the N.C. Forest Service:
Throughout the day, North Carolina Forest Service (NCFS) crews, in conjunction with Pender EMS and Fire and Pender County Emergency Management personnel, have been steadily working the wildfire situation within the Holly Shelter Game Land. After morning forecasts indicated high winds and potential for erratic fire behavior, afternoon weather conditions proved to show no significant change in fire behavior. Due to the coordinated efforts by all personnel working the incident, the threat of an escape from containment lines has been greatly reduced. The area along the Highway 17 corridor from Shepards Road to Pinnacle Parkway continues to be monitored and will be a priority through the weekend to ensure the risk of spreading is minimized. The current weekend forecast calls for a rain event, which will assist with wildfire suppression efforts. Citizens are encouraged to remain vigilant as there is still some smoldering within the perimeter of the fire.
The public is still advised to stay out of the Holly Shelter Game Land area as much as possible. Please avoid using drones in the area to ensure safe air space for NCFS aviation resources. Consideration for firefighter and public safety is the highest priority.
Mark Darrough can be reached at Mark@Localvoicemedia.com or (970) 413-3815
