Superintendent Mike Murray announced today that beginning June 6, 2011, National Park Service (NPS) Fire Management staff will begin establishing fire breaks along the boundary of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and private property at the north end of Roanoke Island. As part of the Outer Banks Group Fire Management Plan, fire breaks will be established on NPS property along a 30-50 foot wide corridor adjacent to the private lands of Heritage Point, Croatan Woods, Holly Ridge, Candela, Duke Woods, and Sunny Side neighborhoods.
Fire breaks aid in suppressing wildfire in numerous ways. The cleared corridors reduce fuel loads and aid in the containment of an advancing fire. The work will be performed using a mobile mulcher, which shreds target vegetation and deposits a thin layer of organic material on the ground as mulch. Undergrowth and dead and down woody material will be mulched, while standing trees with a diameter of greater than six inches will be left intact.
A public information meeting regarding these projects is scheduled for Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the meeting room of the Dare County Library in Manteo, NC.
For more information, contact Operations Chief, Jon Anglin at 252-473-2111 ext. 118.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
