As holly shelter smolders, what is the role of wildfire in the Wilmington area?
24 August 2022
Published by: https://www.starnewsonline.com
USA – Nearly two weeks after it was started by a lightning strike, a wildfire continues to smolder in the Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County.
The roughly 1,226-acre fire is largely contained, according to the N.C. Forest Service, with periodic rains helping drive most of the fire underground as it burns the rich organic peat on the top layer of the ground.
While the fire generated heavy smoke and some concern from nearby residents that could see and smell the smoky fire, no buildings or people were threatened and it didn’t jump fire lines as crews used heavy equipment and aircraft to bring it under control.
But the incident is a timely reminder that fire is a natural and needed element of the Cape Fear region’s environment, and one that will occur regularly whether residents like it or not.
Conducting controlled burns, however, isn’t easy at the best of times. Mix in climate change-driven weather changes, health issues associated with smoke pollution, and rampant development in many areas in and around Wilmington and it can become a challenge.
“Fire is a very emotional thing, and a lot of people have negative views of fire based on their prior experiences with it,” said Nathan Burmester, coastal plain manager for The Nature Conservancy. “But all of our ecosystems here are 100% fire adapted and dependent, and if they don’t get the fire they need, they’re going to change into something else and we’re going to lose all of those species that make this area so special.”
As the Holly Shelter fire continues to flicker, and is monitored by Forest Service personnel, here is a look at the challenges of balancing human and Mother Nature’s needs in an environment that’s historically crisscrossed by fire.
Is the Holly Shelter fire unusual?
No. While its size is bigger than most, wildfires are relatively common in North Carolina. According to the state Forest Service, there were more than 5,000 fires in 2021 that burned nearly 14,000 acres. Since 1970, 38% of fires have been caused by debris burning that got out of control. Another 20% were caused by incendiary incidents. Smoking, children and machine use each started about 8% of the fires. Lightning, which ignited the Holly Shelter blaze, is only blamed for 2% of fires.
In the state’s coastal plain, fire is a natural part of the environment. Andy Wood, director of the Coastal Plain Conservation Group, said the area’s ecosystems are adapted to live with periodic burnings.
“We wouldn’t have Venus flytraps without fire,” he said.
While rampant development along many parts of the N.C. coast have made managing forests and protected natural areas more challenging, a mix of government agencies, environmental groups and private individuals periodically try to burn areas to improve the health of the ecosystems and knock back the fuel — such as downed trees from hurricanes — that could propel wildfires when they are naturally or unintentionally started. Some of the areas in and around Wilmington and see these regular controlled burns include Halyburton Park in Wilmington, Carolina Beach State Park, Orton Plantation in Brunswick County, state game lands across the region, and the Green Swamp and Boiling Spring Lake preserves run by The Nature Conservancy.
Should we expect more wildfires in the future?
According to climatologists, that’s likely due to a host of factors — many tied to climate change.
Scientists are predicting that as temperatures warm up, North Carolina is likely to experience extended periods of dry weather pocketed with a few powerful thunderstorms. The end result will be a drier, warmer climate. Hurricanes are also expected to grow more powerful and potentially more frequent due to global warming, which could lead to more downed trees and vegetation to fuel fires.
According to a 2016 study on future wildfires in the Southeastern U.S. that was led by the USDA Forest Service in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina can expect to see a 74% increase in the area burned by lightning-caused fires and a 4% increase in overall area burned in 2050-60 compared to 2016-20
Corey Davis, North Carolina’s assistant state climatologist, said prescribed burning opportunities, which are preferably low wind and high humidity days, are also expected to decrease in coming decades due to warmer temperatures.
What about all the development the Cape Fear region has been seeing?
According to the Forest Service, North Carolina leads the country in wildland-urban interface — in other words communities butting up against forests and ecosystems where fire is a natural part of their lifecycle.
That’s making it tougher to manage those areas using prescribed burns due to risk of smoke pollution — wood smoke is particularly nasty to human health — and the fear that a fire might get out of control and threaten people and properties.
Brunswick County and Pender County’s coastal strip along U.S. 17 are some of the fastest-growing areas in North Carolina, and the country. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Brunswick County’s population jumped from 51,000 in 1990 to more than 144,000 in 2021. Pender County’s increased from 29,000 to 61,000 over the same time period. But as subdivisions sprout where natural areas used to be, protecting them from fire while balancing the need of environments that need fire is a challenge.
And right now, the push to avoid burning is winning in many areas.
“We’ve been ignoring fire suppression in many areas for so long that the fuels have gotten outrageously overgrown,” Burmester said.
What happens when areas don’t burn?
In short, bad things.
The 1986, a fire in Holly Shelter burned 73,000 acres within the game lands and rained ash and smoke down on a wide area of the Cape Fear, including Wilmington.
The area of Holly Shelter that is burning now actually burned a little over a decade ago. That 2011 fire, also dubbed the Juniper Road Fire, torched more than 30,000 acres. It also was started by lightning.
Forest Service spokesperson Carrie McCullen admitted that this month’s fire was burning in a remote area of the game lands and wasn’t an immediate threat to people or property.
“However, due to a combination of available dry fuels (vegetation), weather conditions (low relative humidity and gusty winds), and difficult terrain, the fire had an extremely large growth potential, with potential to extend well beyond the game lands, across Hwy 50, and into the neighboring communities surrounding the game lands area,” she said in an email on Thursday. “By attacking the uncontrolled fire, firefighters were able hold it at 1,226 acres and contain potential hazards.”
So if areas that saw fire fairly recently are burning again, what about areas that haven’t burned in decades?
Wood said forest management can be tough at the best of times, with fire very often the stewards favorite weapon.
But with the knee-jerk reaction in many cases to put out a fire as soon as smoke is seen, we’re kicking the can down the road.
“There’s no easy solution to this situation, but we need to look and plan for changes in climate that going to change he structures and behaviors of our forests, including drought,” Wood said.
Burmester echoed the sentiment.
“Neighbors have to realize that fire is going to happen, whether as a prescribed burn or an unplanned wildfire,” he said.
