Ocracoke Fire Break Information Meeting

NPS News Release –– Superintendent Barclay Trimble announced that shortly after November 4, 2013, U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) fire management staff, working under an agreement with the National Park Service (NPS), as part of the Outer Banks Group Fire Management Plan, will re-establish a fire break along the NPS boundary between Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Village of Ocracoke.

Fire breaks aid fire suppression efforts in numerous ways and, most importantly, allow access for fire fighters to move around the periphery of a blaze, while providing space to fight a potential fire. Fire breaks assist in containing fires by denying “fuel” such as brush, grasses and small trees, and will reduce the probability of fires moving from NPS lands onto private property. As a result, this fire break will reduce the threat of wildland fire to private homes and property adjacent to NPS lands.

Another way for communities to help reduce wildland fire threat is by implementing the National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise Communities Program which focuses on what residents can do around their buildings to reduce potential loss of life and property to wildfire. Trees, shrubs, and other vegetation surrounding a building contribute greatly as to how well a building survives a wildfire. To get more information about risk assessment and a checklist to help prepare properties, go to www.fireadapted.org

The break will be reformed using a lightweight, tracked vehicle, called a Marsh Master, which was designed for use in marshy environments, with an attached mowing deck. The breaks may not be completely cleared of vegetation as all woody vegetation with a diameter greater than six inches will be left in place.

A public informational meeting regarding this project will be held on Wednesday, October 30, 2013, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Ocracoke Community Center, 999 Irvin Garrish Highway, Ocracoke, NC 27960. 

Additional information: Ocracoke Fire and Protection Association has been working on this project for a number of years. following Hurricane Irene, the State Forestry Service was on Ocracoke and Portsmouth Island cutting up trees that had fallen during the storm. They did an assessment of Ocracoke Island which included the village. The entire island was assessed as being at a high level of fire danger because of the wooden structures in the village being so close together and the vast number of cedar trees around these structures. 

For more information on how to better protect your own property, go to www.fireadapted.org to read the section on “Residents and Homeowners.” There is a section on the right side of that page titled “Wildfire Home Assessment Checklist.”  It gives recommendations for homeowners to consider. 

OFPA encorages everyone to attend the meeting, so they will understand exactly what will be cut.