Wildfire hits rugged, remote area of North Carolina

WINSTON-SALEM, NC (AP) — State and local firefighters are trying to get control of a wildfire in a rugged and remote area of North Carolina, officials said.

Dakota Paris, a forester for the N.C. Forest Service, said the fire at the southern tip of Sauratown Mountain started sometime early Tuesday morning, The Winston-Salem Journal reported. It’s not clear what started the wildfire.

Crews used a bulldozer Tuesday to create a fire break and protect homes on Sugar Bush Lane in southwestern Stokes County. By early afternoon, the fire had covered about 3 acres after starting on the mountain’s ridgeline, said Jonathan Young, a Stokes County ranger with the N.C. Forest Service.

The fire is burning in an area without access roads for vehicles.

Jimmy Holt, the Guilford Ranger with the N.C. Forest Service, said controlling the fire will be difficult because of warm, dry weather with low humidity. Firefighters are using rocks and leaf blowers to create a fire line and keep flames from spreading, Holt said.

A scout plane in the area is directing operations and a helicopter is dropping water, Holt said.