CAROLINA BEACH — The Town of Carolina Beach announced Freeman Park at the north end has reached capacity. As of 2 p.m. Labor Day, it will remain closed to incoming vehicular traffic until further notice.
About 30 minutes prior to the announcement, crowds on the beach witnessed a truck on fire after getting stuck in the sand while attempting to drive onto the north end. One bystander, David Rishel, recorded an 8-minute video of the incident and streamed it via Facebook Live.
Rishel told Port City Daily two females were in the vehicle — which he said looked relatively new, though he was unsure of its make and model. The driver revved the engine to attempt to dislodge the truck, but it began smoking. Both occupants were able to escape before the truck was engulfed in flames.
Tires can be heard popping in the video as the flames grow and smoke billows. First responders and the fire department show up to extinguish the fire about 3 minutes into the video.
“It only took about 5 to 8 minutes for it to burn down,” Rishel said of the truck. “I’ve never seen this in all my years coming here.”
Watch Rishel’s video here.
The Island Gazette, the town’s weekly paper, posted a separate video around 4:45 p.m., as shared by Laurie Etherington.
The Town of Carolina Beach did not note on its social media post announcing the park’s closure that it was due to the fire, only that it had reached capacity limitations — a normal occurrence during busy holidays and throughout the height of the summer season on Pleasure Island.
Anyone with questions about if or when Freeman Park will reopen Monday afternoon can call (910) 458-4614 for more information.
Have tips or comments? Email info@portcitydaily.com
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