ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — The North Carolina Forestry Service, along with several fire departments, is working to contain a large woods fire near Kannapolis in Rowan County.
Fifty acres of land wouldn’t have been destroyed if people had followed the burn ban, officials said.
Firefighters are using a drone with its infrared technology and video capabilities at the Sherwood Wildland Fire.
Areas of green are now charred.
“You walk out, and it’s the devastation, and you know that it could have been prevented,” said Allyson Summitt, the deputy chief of Rowan County Emergency Services.
Fire crews said the fire could have been a lot worse.
“If the wind would have been blowing in different directions, it could have been a significantly different outcome here,” said David Poole, with the N.C. Fire Service.
The Rowan County Fire Marshal’s Office strongly encourages the public to follow the rules of the burn ban.
The Sherwood Wildland Fire is 90% contained, but it could take days to get it 100% under control.
Officials are urgently reminding everyone that the region is under a burn ban due to drought conditions.
VIDEO: Meteorologist Joe Puma discusses wood fires in Kannapolis
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