BRUNSWICK COUNTY — Firefighters remain on the scene to contain a wildfire that started in Boiling Springs Lake over the weekend.
The Sunset Road Fire continues to burn in Boiling Spring Lakes, located 22 miles west of Wilmington, in Brunswick County. The fire started as a small acreage woods fire on Friday but grew to 800 acres by nightfall. The wildfire was fully contained at some point Friday evening but grew Saturday to upward of 1,500 acres due to windy conditions.
The fire started around the Sunset Road area, primarily private property, though 325 acres is county-owned. The investigation process into what ignited it is ongoing.
“This is a complex process,” according to NCFS spokesperson Carrie H. McCullen, adding origin is part of the investigation. “Investigators are trying to piece together evidence and complete assessments much like any crime scene. Imagine adding the fact that any evidence was consumed by fire, and you can understand the challenges.”
McCullen was unaware of any controlled burns having taken place in the wooded area. The wildfire contributed to emergency and voluntary evacuations in nearby neighborhoods, though all have been lifted since. Road closures also went into effect but have reopened.
Fire departments from every Brunswick County municipality and other counties, including New Hanover, Pender and Horry, joined the fight. The North Carolina Forest Service Incident Management Team is now managing the fire’s 1,369 acres — with 10% containment. There are around 40 operational staff on the site. This includes a dozer and full track strike teams, type 6 engine crews and 25 operational overhead.
“An additional 11 personnel will be coming in tomorrow,” McCullen said.
Crews continue spraying water — type 6 engines carry 200 or 300 gallons — on smoldering areas and offer structural protection assistance. Containment lines are being reinforced, with equipment breaking through deep organic soils and vegetation; the goal is to prevent hot spots from igniting and fueling the fire more.
While helicopter and single-engine air tankers helped over the weekend, scooping water from nearby lakes and ponds, they have ceased operations, but McCullen said they remain on standby in case needs arise again. Scout planes continue to fly, however, to provide updates on fire status from aerial perspectives; all drones are illegal to operate currently, per state law, as to avoid interferance.
McCullen added there is no way of knowing when the fire will be fully contained, due to many variables, including weather, vegetation, organic soils and when crews are 100% confident fire will not escape lines. McCullen said it takes a lot of water to break apart soils and ensure there is a buffer “between the fire and unburned vegetation.”
“We strive to work toward increasing the containment percentage, but an ETA on getting to 100% is unknown,” she said, adding “hundreds of thousands of gallons” have been used so far.
David Poole, with the North Carolina Forest Service, posted an update Monday morning, noting organic fuel is heavy along Black Hawk Road to Highway 87 to Pine Road, which firefighters are tackling first.
“We will continue to mop up lines,” Poole said, referring to extinguishing kindling.
He asked for motorists and nearby residents give crews proper space to do their jobs.
McCullen added the North Carolina Forest Service continues receiving EMS on-call support from Brunswick County and structural protection support from local and mutual aid counties.
FEMA also announced costs for emergency response to the wildfires would be partly covered by the feds. A Fire Management Assistance Grant was submitted over the weekend, to help cover 75% eligible costs; this includes equipment use, materials, supplies, mobilization efforts and more.
No homes were damaged in the wildfire, though according to FEMA’s release regarding the grant, roughly 1,000 homes in Boiling Springs Lake were under threat, not to mention other infrastructure and facilities nearby.
Only one firefighter was treated for heat- and smoke-related illness, which took place toward the end of the firefighter’s shift, according to county spokesperson Meagan Kascsak.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the individual was returned to the home unit to rest and recover. No medical treatment was necessary,” Kascsak said.
Brunswick County remains under a code orange alert for air quality, the DEQ Air Quality Portal indicates.
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