HAMLET — A debris fire that got out of control from gusty winds Monday came close to burning a home and a local manufacturing plant.
County Ranger Brandon Van Buren with the N.C. Forest Service said a little more than six acres burned on County Home Road, after the fire jumped across the blacktop.
According to the ranger, the fire was “sending out spots” at least 200 feet ahead of the main fire. He said crews were able to save a home and Plastek.
The National Weather Service shows that conditions at nearby Camp Mackall included 17% humidity and 17 mph winds with gusts up to 22 mph.
A red flag warning is in effect for a quarter of North Carolina’s 100 counties, mostly in the eastern and western regions of the state, but not for Richmond.
However, with dry fuel sources and strong winds, Van Buren said the potential for wildfires is very high in the area.
There was a red flag warning Saturday for most of North and South Carolina and Georgia.
As of 5:15 p.m.,the ranger said the fire was contained, but crews were keeping a watchful eye to make sure it didn’t jump the line.
Van Buren said a warning ticket was issued to the person who was burning.
This makes the fourth fire to get out of control in the past three days.
The N.C. Public Wildfire Viewer on Saturday showed a fire burned a half acre in the northern end of the county between N.C. 73 and Rummage Packhouse Road. Van Buren said that was also a debris fire and a warning ticket was issued.
The viewer shows two other fires for March 26: a one-acre fire off Wiregrass Road, north of County Home; and a 1.2-acre blaze near Lance’s Run, off Campbell Road, north of Hamlet.
The largest cluster of fires on Saturday stretched from Montgomery County, southeast through the Sandhills and counties that border South Carolina.
On Sunday, the ranger said there was a small roadside fire in the Derby area that is still under investigation, and a controlled burn at Camp Mackall got out of control but was quickly contained by base personnel.
On March 23, 17 wildfires burned 209.7 acres of private and state-owned land, according to the NCFS. Region D3, which includes Richmond, saw more than 3.5 acres burned from five fires.
As of that date, 2,410 fires had burned 7368.3 acres across the state so far this year.
Earlier this month, a fire jumped a containment line and burned about half an acre near Rockingham Speedway.
Last May, two fires burned around 40 acres off County Home Road between Plastek and Richmond County Ninth Grade Academy and a fire in Gum Swamp burned about 100 acres.
Van Buren strongly encourages residents to refrain from burning trash or debris on windy days.
