View from #ilm of woods fire burning off Hwy 74/76 in Compass Pointe area of #brunsco. @ncforestservice on scene. pic.twitter.com/QRBAgjetoi
— Jon Evans (@JonEvansWECT) April 6, 2015
The Compass Pointe fire in Brunswick County has forced nearly a 100 households to evacuate as the fire spread to 500 hundred acres in southern North Carolina.
Here’s a few facts about the blaze, from the North Carolina Forest Service:
— Fire is contained at 500 acres. It spread from 15 acres at initial attack.
— 89 homes threatened and evacuated. The Compass Pointe subdivision, off U.S. Route 74 and and U.S. Route 76 was emptied. Residents were allowed back in by 6 p.m. on Monday, a local TV news station reported.
–5 homes damaged. 1 outbuilding lost, 1 boat damaged and 1 pull-behind trailer lost.
— 8 tractor plows, two helicopters and 3 SEATs responded.
Access to the fire, which is burning in the southern tip of the state, proved tricky for crews. Trains going through the area had to be stopped, and fire crews had to work around tracks and pipelines transporting flammable gasses. The fire threatened a local water treatment plant, and sent embers into flower beds, onto roofs and across many roads.
The fire’s cause remains unknown, said county Fire Marshal Scott Garner. There were no prescribed burns in the area.
