The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and its surrounding areas in eastern N.C. have been under air pollution advisories for the past three weeks stemming from a wildfire that has been burning and expanding since its ignition May 5. In only five days, the fire consumed over 20,000 acres of wildlife and has affected air quality in Raleigh.
The refuge is meant to protect the wildlife and unique wetland environment in the Alligator River, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service policy. It is also the main area in which the red wolf is being re-established in the wild. The wildfire threatens everything in the refuge, and the priority is to quench the flames, according to Tom Crews, fire management officer for the refuge.
Initially, the fire was believed to be a result of arson. Crews said there were three fires in a single location, “and that is suspicious.”
However, arson suspicions quickly proved to be incorrect when a fire investigator discovered a tree that had clearly been struck by lightning. The tree smoldered for a while and later fully ignited, causing the wildfire, according to Crews.
Usually when a wildfire breaks out, amphibious aircraft are used to put out the flames. But, last month, the state of North Carolina auctioned off its CL215 “Super Scooper” plane on eBay for $4 million and sold it for $445,000 – almost a tenth of its $4 million price tag when it was purchased in 1998.
The plane cost up to $1.2 million per year to upkeep, which is more than 30 percent of the Division of Forest Resources’ budget, and the necessary repairs for the craft were estimated to be worth about $1.5 million. As a result, the state decided to cut costs and get rid of the expensive aircraft, which unfortunately could have been very useful in light of the current situation.
“If we’d had the CL215, we’d have been able to stop this fire by now, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Crews said. “It’s a real workhorse. It can drop more than three times as much water as any other plane.”
With no other back-up specialized aircraft, helicopters dumped buckets of water onto the inferno while about 75 people cleared brush and trees out of the path of the fire, Crew said.
Hampered support and loss of the CL 215 plane have allowed the wildfires to continue burning weeks after the initial flare-up, and as of May 19, the fires were still burning uncontrollably and putting residents near the area at a health risk.
Nearly all of northeastern NC is under an air pollution advisory. The conditions are Code Orange in Camden, Currituck, Dare, Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Tyrell counties.
Smoke has reached as far as Wake County and N.C. State’s campus, but, aside from morning conditions tending to be slightly foggy, the overall air quality does not seem to be bothering locals significantly.
Mike Holsten, a junior in social work, finds the smoky conditions to be a bit of a bother, but nothing more.
“It’s hazy in the mornings sometimes. The fires must be pretty bad if the smoke is reaching all the way from the coast to us,” Holsten said.
Ross Ledford, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said he has felt some physical effects of the smoky conditions.
“Occasionally, when I’m walking in the mornings, I’ll find myself short of breath,” Ledford said.
Barry Goldfarb, professor and head of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Academic Research at N.C. State, said the fire will continue to burn for quite a while due to soil composition in Dare County.
“Some of the soils [in the refuge] are very unusual. They are made up of a lot of organic matter rather than minerals,” Goldfarb said. “Thus, the fire will continue to burn for quite a while unless there is a heavy rainfall.”
