Hubert fire under control - NC 172 reopened

Onslow County firefighters spent Saturday afternoon in Hubert extinguishing an out-of-control controlled burn.

At around 3:30 p.m. winds caused a controlled burn behind a house on N.C. 172 to leap over containment walls and set nearby woods ablaze, said Matthew Champney, a deputy chief with the Hubert Volunteer Fire Department.

No one was injured, but six homes had to be evacuated and the siding on one house was damaged, Champney said.

Between 20 and 25 acres of woodland was burned before the fire could be brought under control just after 6 p.m., fire officials said.

The N.C. Forestry Service used three airplanes to drop water on the fire, said Norman Bryson, interim director of Onslow County Emergency Services and Homeland Security.

The fire began south of Crystal Lane and spread quickly before firefighters from around 10 departments fought it back, Bryson said.

N.C. 172 was temporarily closed during the height of the fire, but was reopened later in the afternoon, Bryson said.

Firefighters from Hubert, Camp Lejeune, Piney Green, White Oak, Southwest, Bear Creek, West Carteret and the N.C. Forestry Service assisted in putting the fire out, Champney said.

The controlled burn that sparked the fire was being conducted properly, he said.

Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.