Around 120 acre acres of brush burned in northern Sampson County near Spivey's Corner. Police shut down roads around the fire, including Highway 421, as they worked to get the blaze under control.
Dozens of homes surrounding the Sandy Ridge Country Club were evacuated, as well as the club and a day-care center, as winds drove the fire dangerously close. Residents were only able to get into the area by 4-wheel ATV.
The blaze has been burning since Monday. Officials believed that it was under control, but winds kicked up flames in another area. Firefighters and volunteers fought the fire by ground and by air.
Around 70 percent of the blaze had been contained late Friday evening. Residents who were evacuated gathered at a nearby elementary school, awaiting word on when the smoke would be cleared enough for them to return to their homes.
Gusting winds well ahead of
a line of thunderstorms in Tennessee
prompted Red Flag Warnings for parts of North Carolina late Friday afternoon. Winds gusted to 20-30 miles per hour in some parts of the area, with humidity dropping to between 20 and 30 percent.
The warning covered 19 counties until 8 p.m. Friday, including Moore, Scotland, Robeson, Hoke, Lee, Harnett, Johnston, Cumberland, Sampson, Wayne, and other counties in the southeast part of the state.
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