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An old tobacco barn is seen destroyed during a woods fire that burned about nine acres Thursday on Key Road in Ararat. The blaze kept firefighters busy for more than four hours.
Two woods fires that broke out in different areas of the county kept firefighters busy Thursday afternoon.
The first fire broke out on Key Road in Ararat at about 12:15 p.m. By the time firefighters extinguished the fire, it had burned about nine acres and destroyed an outbuilding, according to Brian Elam, county ranger for the North Carolina Forest Service, which oversees most woods and brush fires.
“The fire got fairly close to some mobile homes in the area, and we were unable to find a definite origin for the fire,” Elam said.
Firefighters from Ararat Volunteer Fire Department, Bannertown VFD, South Surry VFD, White Plains VFD and Pilot Knob VFD responded to the call, with the final crews clearing at 4 p.m.
The second fire was dispatched at 3:30 p.m. on Cain Road in the Westfield area of the county, Elam reported.
That incident burned about an acre along with 50 wood pallets and some old hay, which Elam said caused the biggest challenge. The fire was extinguished by 5:45 p.m. with firefighters with Westfield VFD and Bannertown VFD cleared the scene.
“It is a fluke the two calls came in one day,” Elam said. “It’s been so cold and people haven’t been doing much, and today is the first real warm weather we’ve had, so people have been trying to clean up.
“Folks don’t realize how quickly the grass and woods dry out despite the snow and rain we’ve had, and the woods are really dry.”
One more week without any precipitation could be a recipe for more wildfires, according to Elam. “It will definitely be a concern.”
He cautioned those who do decide to burn yard trash such as leaves and brush to “be careful, have a garden hose close and keep a watch on things. Make sure the fire is completely out before you leave it unattended.”
Earlier in the day Thursday, firefighters were dispatched to what a caller thought was a woods fire in the Devotion area of the county, but upon arrival, they learned it was a controlled burn.
Elam said a private contractor was burning land there for a land owner for environmental rehabilitation purposes, similar to the burning that has been taking place and will continue to take place in the summit area of Pilot Mountain State Park.
And, if all goes as planned, he said crews with the North Carolina Forest Service will be burning about 100 acres in the Devotion area off Reynolds Road today. “If we get to do the burn as planned, it will definitely be noticeable and put off a lot of smoke,” he said.
For more information on wildfire burning and safety tips, visit www.dfr.state.nc.us/fire_control/fire_control.htm.
Contact Wendy Byerly Wood at wbyerly-wood@mtairynews.com or 719-1923.
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