Huntersville firefighters respond to brush fire call, find smoke from controlled burn

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Huntersville firefighters responded to reports of a brush fire Saturday morning in a nature preserve located off Stephens Road.

The incident involved a smoking tree found within an area that had recently undergone a scheduled prescribed burn.

Personnel from Engine 2 hiked to the scene and used a water can to cool the tree to prevent additional emergency calls.

Fire officials said smoking vegetation is an expected condition in the days and weeks following a controlled burn and typically does not require a 911 response.

The fire department asked the public to avoid calling 911 when seeing smoke or small spot fires within “the black,” a term used for the charred section of a recent prescribed burn. Fire officials stated that smoking stumps and trees are expected conditions that can persist for several days or up to a week following a controlled fire.

Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation’s Division of Nature Preserves and Natural Resources is responsible for conducting these burns. HFD noted that its personnel do not perform the operations, which are managed by experts in natural resource management.

These prescribed fires are designed to safeguard local wildlife while protecting the public from the risk of larger wildfires, officials said. Firefighters stated that if a reported fire is found within the boundaries of a recent controlled burn, crews will typically return to service without taking further action.

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