DATE: Wednesday, April 9, 1997              TAG: 9704090441

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: STUMPY POINT                      LENGTH:   43 lines

DRY UNDERBRUSH AND HIGH WINDS HAMPER BATTLE AGAINST FLAMES

Dry underbrush and high winds hampered more than 50 firefighters Tuesday in their efforts to quell a fire on the Dare County mainland, but they said they had the flames under control by sunset.

``We have it contained,'' said North Carolina Forest Service spokesperson Lisa Schell. ``The fire line has been established, and it seems to be holding.''

The fast-moving blaze on the U.S. Navy Bombing Range on the Dare County Mainland poses no threat, state forestry officials said, to structures at the bombing range or the nearby communities of Stumpy Point and Engelhard.

Personnel from the North Carolina Forest Service, the National Guard and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began battling the 250-acre fire about 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Schell said the blaze quickly gained momentum.

Ten tractor plows were used to establish a control line, a perimeter that helps contain the fire, Schell said.

In addition to ground crews, the effort got some airborne help. Three aircraft that drop water, sometimes mixed with a extinguishing foam, were aiding firefighters below.

The planes operate like crop dusters, Schell said.

Two Salisbury-based National Guard Blackhawk helicopters also dropped water on the fire, as did a Fish and Wildlife helicopter. The aircraft have the capability to drop 100 to 200 gallons of water. Aircraft from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Croatan National Forest joined the effort, bringing to nine the number of airborne units on the scene.

Two Forestry Service crews are usually on call at the Navy range because of military concerns, Schell said. However, Tuesday's fire prompted a quick call to forestry crews in the district office in Fairfield. The continued spread prompted officials to bring in 35 firefighters from the department's Incident Team.

The area near the bombing range has been the site of a number of blazes. The last major fire, in 1980, destroyed 29,000 acres, Schell said.

Firefighters expect to be on the scene for another two or three days to keep watch over the smoldering remains. KEYWORDS: FIRE

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