Evans Road Fire Update- July 27, 2008
Incident: Evans Road Wildland Fire
Released: 7/27/2008
Current Status
·Ø A North Carolina Incident Management Team (Hendricks) reported to the fire on Saturday, July 26. The North Carolina team is working with the Florida Blue Team today and will take command of the fire on Monday. This is the 7th transfer of command on the Evans Road Fire which started on June 1. Many members of the North Carolina team are beginning their third 16-day tour of duty.
·Ø After 2 days without rainfall on the fire, firefighters are beginning to see some additional heat in smoldering organic soils, although no open flames have been seen near control lines. Firefighters continue to flood hot spots and heat sources that have been pinpointed by infrared imagery. Firefighters are patrolling on a routine basis looking for hotspots that could threaten firelines.
·Ø Due to continued improvement in containment of the fire, managers are identifying resources that that are no longer needed. Night shift operations on the fire were discontinued after Thursday. Many pumps that were critical to the containment of the fire in its early stages have been shut down. The number of pumps in operation currently has been reduced from 59 to 22. Fire managers must carefully weigh current resource needs against long-term projections in determining numbers of personnel and equipment to be released from the fire.
·Ø The Evans Road Fire is 75% contained at 40,704 acres. To date, sixty (60%) percent of the fire has burned on US Fish and Wildlife Lands. Forty (40%) percent of the fire has burned on state and private lands.
·Ø Caution is advised while driving as smoke can reduce visibility on highways. Smoke advisories may be found at: www.weather.gov/mhx. A map of forecast smoke impact areas may be found at www.ncair.org/news/pr/2008/smoke warning.shtml.
Resources on the Fire
275 personnel, 10 tractor/plow units, 3 water tenders; 32 engines, 2 camp crews & 1 helicopter.
Cooperators
Florida Division of Forestry, Georgia Forestry Commission, Kentucky Division of Forestry, Mississippi Forestry Commission, South Carolina Forestry Commission, Tennessee Division of Forestry, Virginia Department of Forestry, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Hyde, Tyrrell & Washington County Emergency Management; NC Division of Emergency Management; National Weather Service; Department of Transportation; Department of Defense; Hyde County; Hyde County Sheriff's Office; National Park Service; NC Division of Parks and Recreation; NC Division of Water Quality; NCWRC, Division of Wildlife Management; NC Division of Air Quality, NC Highway Patrol; NC Office of State Fire Marshal; USDA-Forest Service; Bureau of Land Management; local volunteer fire departments.
Plans for Tomorrow
Pumping & sprinkler operations will continue providing reinforcement of containment lines.
