Fire in North Carolina Loops Through Coastal Area; Smoke Reaches Florida

A fire that has charred more than 25,000 acres of forest land made a loop across southeastern North Carolina on Saturday, forcing homeowners to use sprinklers and hoses to douse their roofs as smoke spread into Florida, 360 miles away.

Officials asked residents of 800 homes east of U.S. 17 to evacuate and urged all others living between that major highway and the Intracoastal Waterway to leave as well.

The blaze was west of U.S. 17 and believed moving to the southeast. Twenty-five miles of the highway, from Holly Ridge to Scotts Hill, were closed.

“We don’t have a good idea of how many people (are affected) because the population changes seasonally,” said Chrystal Stowe, state Crime Control and Public Safety Department spokeswoman.

The blaze appeared headed toward Hampstead, where protective lines were plowed around buildings and local firefighters were prepared to hose down houses, said Feldman Corn, spokesman for the state Division of Forest Resources.

At one point, officials said the 6-day-old fire was two miles wide and 18 miles long, but on Saturday winds split the blaze and smoke obscured the edges.

“The fire has made a loop,” said Tom Hegele, a spokesman for the state Division of Forest Resources. “Since it started Monday afternoon, it has made an almost 360-degree turn. It is almost back to where it started.”