Update Friday 10 p.m. — Friday evening the North Carolina Forest Service issued a statement:
As of 8 p.m., June 16, the Pulp Road Fire is estimated to be 11,500 acres following strategic firing operations. Firefighting personnel are conducting these operations to bring the fire’s edge to the road system, which will help crews to better contain the fire. Containment remains at 0%, and strategic firing operations will continue into tonight and while weather is favorable. Local communities near the fire area may see significant glow from the fire overnight.
Significant smoke is expected for communities in and surrounding Brunswick County. Areas surrounding the Green Swamp Nature Preserve and northeast of Wilmington will experience the heaviest smoke impacts. Highway 17 and other corridors could be impacted with substantial smoke, resulting in low visibility and challenging travel conditions overnight and into Saturday.
In the interest of safety, residents and commuters may want to consider allowing for extra travel time or plan to take alternate routes.
The N.C. Forest Service is mobilizing its Red Incident Management Team to take command of the Pulp Road Fire. Currently, operational resources working this fire include multiple engine and tractor plow strike teams as well as aircraft providing aerial support.
The public is reminded to keep drones away from wildfires. While drones provide unique opportunities for aerial video and imagery of wildfire activity, they are unauthorized. Flying a drone near or around a wildfire compromises the safety of pilots and interferes with firefighting efforts.
There are no injuries and no structures threatened at this time.
Due to the wildfire, the Green Swamp Nature Preserve remains closed.
For information updates, visit https://www.ncforestservice.gov/fire_control/sit_report.htm. Subscribe to receive wildfire alerts and information from the N.C. Forest Service at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCFS/subscriber/new.
A prescribed burn turned wildfire is filling the air in the Cape Fear area with smoke today.
Smoke from the Pulp Road fire in Brunswick County has the potential to create unhealthy air quality today for areas downwind of the fire.
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality issued air quality warnings for Cape Fear communities: Code Red for Brunswick County, and Code Orange for Pender and New Hanover counties.
"Code Red represents unhealthy air quality for everyone," DEQ wrote in a press release. "Residents should consider limiting prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. Anyone sensitive to air pollution, including children, older adults and people with asthma, should avoid outdoor exertion altogether."
Code Orange areas have air quality that's unhealthy for people sensitive to air pollution. Impacted residents should limit their time outdoors, and healthy adults are less likely to be affected.
Open burning is against the law on air quality days at Code Orange or above, so those bans are in place in all three counties.
Wildfire smoke is comprised of tiny particulate matter — PM2.5. DEQ says each particle is smaller than the width of a human hair, and can reach deep in the lungs, aggravating asthma and other lung conditions.
At last update Thursday evening, the Pulp Road fire had reached 3,500 acres with 0% containment. The fire started from a prescribed burn in Green Swamp Preserve.
You can track active fires being monitored by the North Carolina Forest Service here.
For the latest air quality information, visit the Air Quality Portal online. DEQ’s website has a list of resources for keeping safe around wildfire smoke.