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Wildfires sparked by debris burning a threat in NC

Sabian Warren

BLACK MOUNTAIN – Virginia Maloyed admits it's hard not to not feel bitter about the Ridgecrest wildfire that roared to within feet of her home.

The intense heat warped siding on the back of her Bright Hope Road mobile home. Her cat, Happy, fled as the fire approached, and she hasn't seen him since.

But what's most galling, she said, is how the March 31 blaze started — from the legal burning of debris by a resident well out of sight and beyond a wooded area from her own lot.

"We could have lost everything," Maloyed said last week. "My daughter still has trouble sleeping and focusing on her homework. I close my eyes at night and I still see the fire."

The Ridgecrest fire torched more than 700 acres, destroyed one home and damaged Maloyed's home and four others. It will be logged in state forestry records as just one more in a long list of woods fires ignited by a residential debris burn.

Nearly half of all wildfires in North Carolina each year are caused by burning debris, charring thousands of acres. Fire officials and other experts say it's difficult to get a handle on the problem.

Of 4,593 wildfires in North Carolina last year, debris burning was identified as the cause of 2,237 of them, according to N.C. Forest Service records.

A long-term average shows that 42 percent of all wildfires in the state each year are caused by debris burning.

But state officials say tighter regulations aren't necessarily the answer.

"It's already against the law (to allow a debris burn to escape)," said J. Burns, N.C. Forest Service law enforcement supervisor for the western half of the state.

What's really needed is a greater sense of responsibility from people who start debris fires, and more understanding of the dangers, he said.

"That would prevent a lot of escaped debris fires," Burns said. "The biggest thing is, when people start a fire, no matter how big or small, they're responsible for their fire until it is fully extinguished."

The Ridgecrest fire

Fire investigators say the fast-moving wildfire that burned 740 acres was ignited by sparks from a legal debris burn on a resident's property on Sourwood Ridge Road.

The case is a classic example of the importance of thoroughly extinguishing an outdoor fire, Burns said. The property owner burned branches and other yard waste on March 30 and thought his fire was out.

But when the wind kicked up the next day, sparks from lingering hot coals blew into nearby woods and started the fire, which burned for days and involved hundreds of firefighters. The blaze cost the N.C. Forest Service alone nearly $400,000.

"In 99 percent of the cases, there's no malicious intent," Burns said of such fires. "It's just someone not knowing how to burn properly or not realizing how their fire can escape and how quickly it can escape. People say, 'I just went inside for a minute,' or they just didn't realize it could do what it did."

The Sourwood Ridge Road property owner was cited for allowing his fire to escape. His name was not released. The misdemeanor offense, in terms of criminal penalties, typically results in fines ranging only from $10 to $50, Burns said.

But people who cause fires can be held liable for damages in civil court, he said.

Confusing regulations

Forest Service and air quality officials say a key challenge in reducing open burning problems is educating residents on regulations that can seem confusing.

Open burning is regulated by the state Forest Service, the N.C. Division of Air Quality and, in Buncombe County, the WNC Regional Air Quality Agency. Additionally, local restrictions are in place in most municipalities.

In Asheville, for example, residential debris burning is not allowed, though small recreational campfires are permitted, Asheville Fire Department public information officer Kelley Klope said.

City residents generally follow the rules, but the department occasionally has to respond to an illegal debris burn, she said.

"Generally, we go out and try to educate, let them know the rules and have them extinguish the fire," Klope said. "It's generally people who aren't knowledgeable about the rules and regulations and thought they were doing the right thing."

Burning generally is allowed in unincorporated areas where public pickup of yard debris is not available. But an N.C. Forest Service burning permit is required for any fire within 500 feet of woodlands — unless the burn is within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling.

The WNC Regional Air Quality Agency and Division of Air Quality add another layer of regulations to guard against air pollution.

Residential rules enforced by these agencies include a ban on burning household garbage.

"There's a lot of nasty, toxic chemicals from trash burning," said Kevin Lance, field services program manager with the WNC agency. "We're looking at it from an air pollution standpoint, not a fire safety standpoint."

The number of such fires has increased significantly in recent years, he said.

"Since times have gotten harder, in lieu of garbage pickup some people are burning their trash," Lance said. "That's dramatically increased since the economy tightened up."

The WNC agency's regulations, which are enforced only in Buncombe County, mirror Division of Air Quality rules. Buncombe is one of three counties in the state with locally run air quality agencies — Mecklenburg and Forsyth are the other two.

"We like to think we can be a little more proactive with just one county," Lance said. "I think we have a little better response time as far as complaints."

The WNC agency can declare a no-burning day in Buncombe if ozone levels are high or if the county fire marshal requests it because of dry, windy conditions, meaning no outdoor burning of any kind is allowed. But such declarations are unusual — the agency averages calling only about 10 no-burn days annually, Lance said.

In the 97 counties without locally-run air quality agencies, the state Division of Air Quality can declare a no-burning day.

Because of dry conditions, no-burning days were declared for April 2-7 in Buncombe. But when the Ridgecrest fire started, no such ban was in place.

For Virginia Maloyed, memories of the panic she felt as the flames closed in will linger. When she and her husband, Earnest, grabbed their 8-year-old daughter and their two dogs and fled, they had no way of knowing what they would find when they returned.

"We really feel blessed that the house is here," Maloyed said. "I really hope, after this, that people think before they burn."

Residential debris burning rules

Key regulations for burning debris in a residential setting. (Other rules apply for agricultural or land-clearing burning).

•Burning vegetative yard debris such as leaves and branches does not require a permit if the burn pile is within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling.

•Burning is only allowed in areas where no public pickup of debris is available. In Asheville, for example, debris burning is not allowed, though small recreational campfires are permitted.

•It is always illegal to burn household garbage, paper, cardboard, tires, construction debris and other such materials.

•An N.C. Forest Service permit is required to burn debris if the burning is within 500 feet of woodlands. The free permits are available online at ncforestservice.gov or from a county forest ranger.

•Burning must be done between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

•In Buncombe County, no outdoor burning of any kind is allowed if the WNC Regional Air Quality Agency declares a no-burning day. Residents can find out if it's a burning day by calling 828-250-6777 for a daily recording, seven days a week.

Debris burning/campfire safety tips

•Check the weather; don't burn on dry, windy days.

•Build campfires away from overhanging branches, steep slopes, rotten stumps, logs, dry grass and leaves. Pull any extra wood away from the fire.

•Keep plenty of water handy and have a shovel for throwing dirt on the fire if it gets out of control.

•Scrape away leaf litter and any burnable material within a 10-foot diameter circle around the fire.

•After lighting a fire, be sure your match is out. Hold it until it is cold and then break it so you can feel the charred portion before discarding.

•Never leave a fire unattended. Even a small breeze could quickly cause the fire to spread.

•After use, douse the fire with water. Make sure all embers, coals and sticks are wet. Move rocks - there may be more burning embers underneath. Stir the remains, add more water, and stir again. Be sure all burned material has been extinguished and cooled.

•If you do not have water, use dirt. Mix enough soil or sand with the embers. Continue adding and stirring until all material is cooled then feel all materials with your bare hand. Make sure that no roots are burning and do not bury your coals — they can smolder and ignite.

Source: N.C. Forest Service

Wildfires from debris burns

Total number of wildfires and the number of those that started from debris burning in North Carolina, 2005-14.

2005: 4,078 fires, 1,697 from debris burns.

2006: 5,767 fires, 2,414 from debris burns.

2007: 7,260 fires, 2,461 from debris burns.

2008: 4,378 fires, 1,565 from debris burns.

2009: 3,292 fires, 1,309 from debris burns.

2010: 4,053 fires, 1,642 from debris burns.

2011: 5,265 fires, 2,102 from debris burns.

2012: 3,551 fires, 1,221 from debris burns.

2013: 3,374 fires, 1,492 from debris burns.

2014: 4,593 fires, 2,237 from debris burns.

Source: N.C. Forest Service