Firefighters have been fighting a fire in one of the state forests on the coast of North Carolina (USA) for several days. By Sunday, almost 15,000 hectares had burned. Alerts were issued for more than 20 counties on Saturday due to deteriorating air quality.
The fire in the Croatan National Forest in eastern North Carolina broke out in the middle of the week and spread quickly due to gusty winds and dry weather conditions. On Friday morning, the area covered by fire was over 2,800 hectares, and on Saturday evening, local time, it was 15,000. ha. Thanks to the rainfall overnight, the area of ​​​​the fire did not increase. Its cause is being investigated.
By Sunday morning, local time, the fire was 30 percent under control. Construction of a fire protection belt of approximately 40 kilometers was underway to prevent the fire from spreading to private property.
The northern boundary of the fire is eight kilometers southwest of James City’s Coastal Carolina Regional Airport in James City, local media reported.
Fire in North CarolinaENEX/NewsNation
Fire in North CarolinaENEX/NewsNation
Alerts for poor air quality
The fire has worsened air quality in the state’s coastal counties. 21 counties were placed under alerts on Saturday smog. The worst air quality was recorded in Craven and Jones counties.
Thick smoke enveloped the coast of North Carolina and reached parts of Virginia.
USA Today, wcti12.com, tvnmeteo.pl
Main photo source: ENEX/NewsNation