N.C. wildfire exceeds 32,000 acres

PONZER -- The wildfire that burned through the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge continues to spread north and east this morning, forestry officials say.

Emergency officials have a contingency plan to possibly evacuate about 150 homes in the towns of Newland and Cross Landing as the massive wildfire continues to burn in eastern North Carolina. Officials said there are no immediate plans to launch the evacuation, however.

By late Sunday afternoon, the fire had burned through 32,556 acres, about 13,400 of those on private land.

Firefighters have set containment lines around 40 percent of the fire, said Hannah Thompson, a spokeswoman with the N.C. Division of Forest Resources. Bulldozer efforts to expand or shore up 23 miles of containment lines continued this morning, as crews on the southeastern perimeter continued burnout operations to keep the fire spreading further in that direction.

Moving eastward, however, the wildfire continues to creep forward across a swath that is more than two miles wide. Forecasts call for the high-pressure system sitting atop the region to weaken Tuesday as a new front moves in, allowing winds to shift to the northeast, said John Jacobson, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

A total of 254 firefighters and other emergency personnel are now working to contain the blaze, which is expected to keep generating ground-level smoke through the coastal plain counties. A state of emergency remains in effect for Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties.

No injuries have been reported, and no buildings have been destroyed.

Overnight, crews continued pumping water from Lake Phelps as firefighters patrolled the perimeter and mopped up spotfires that ignited during the day.

The fire was sparked by lightning a week ago. It is the largest ongoing, uncontained fire in the United States at the moment, said Patty McQuillan, a public information officer for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. The Hughes Ranch Wildland Fire in Texas, which burned more than 45,000 acres, is now 100 percent contained.

Officials say the fire fighting has cost just over $1 million. More firefighters are expected to arrive to help those already assigned to the fire.