ROCKINGHAM ― Windy and dry conditions have again led to cautions against outdoor burning as April closes out.
The National Service has issued a red flag warning for Richmond County and most of North Carolina, which will remain in effect until 7 p.m.
Forecasters say the winds, combined with a low relative humidity, will make any fire difficult to control.
According to the NWS, winds at Camp Mackall were steady at 14 mph with gusts up to 20 mph and humidity was at 28%.
Last week, embers from a debris burn on Mount Moriah Church Road south of Hamlet jumped a containment line and burned about 3 acres of surrounding land.
County Ranger Jack Franklin of the N.C. Forest Service said that fire would have been fine on a normal day.
Several sources show that North Carolina ranks fourth in the nation for wildfires, and Franklin said Richmond County is often in the top 10 of the state’s 100 counties for wildfires.
Reports with the Forest Service show 23 fires burned more than 25 acres across the state on Thursday. There were three in District 3, which includes Richmond, Anson, Chatham, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Scotland and Stanly counties; and seven in District 6,which includes Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Robeson and Sampson.
So far this month, there have been 675 fires in the state, burning more than 1,700 acres.
