Wildfire Smoke Spreads Across Eastern Carolina; Code Orange Issued

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

There are air quality alerts for much of Eastern Carolina as the smoke from that huge wildfire in Dare County pushes westward Wednesday.

The smell of smoke and hazy conditions have been reported in Beaufort, Bertie, Pitt, Lenoir and Martin counties this morning. Tuesday smoke from the wildfire made its way as far west as Durham.

The Division of Air Quality has issued a Code Orange Alert for much of Eastern Carolina until 3:00 p.m. Counties include: Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Greene, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Onslow, Pitt, Tyrrell, Wilson, Wayne, and Wilson counties.

An estimated 21,563 acres have burned in the wildfire since it was discovered Thursday, and the fire is now 50% contained. A new Temporary Flight Restriction in the airspace above the fire was issued beginning Tuesday.

Firefighters successfully completed ignition of a 571 acre burn-out to secure the northeast corner of the Pains Bay wildfire according to public information officer Bill Sweets. Burning the fuel from this block will provide an additional layer of protection for the community of Stumpy Point- should the fire make a run in that direction...

Smoke and haze were very heavy in my area this morning - has cleared some this afternoon. This is definitely a hazard for people with asthma and other respiratory conditions living in the Eastern part of our state.

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/Wildfire_Smoke_Spreads_Across_Eastern_Carolina_Code_Orange_Issued_121392394.html