Wildfire on Outer Banks burns across 1,000 acres

A wildfire in eastern North Carolina has burned parts of the Outer Banks and covered the area in smoke.

The Roanoke Island Volunteer Fire Department said Tuesday morning on Facebook that there was an active wildland fire at Dare County Bombing Range, a training location for military aircraft crews. The fire department received calls about a strong smell of smoke.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in North Carolina wrote in a post on Tuesday afternoon that the fire had slightly spread to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, which is one of the only places in the world where endangered red wolves can be seen in the wild.

The agency said refuge firefighters were helping the state Forest Service fight the blaze. It covered 1,000 acres (1.6 square miles) and was 60% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to the Forest Service’s website.

“Thankfully, with forecast weather, we do not expect the fire to present much additional threat to refuge habitats and facilities,” the Fish and Wildlife Service said on Facebook.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire.