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Great Lakes Fire Daily Update, April 30, 2023

Today’s weather is expected to bring several rounds of rain preventing any active fire behavior or growth. Additionally, containment increased to 45% with completion of indirect fireline along the northwest side of the fire. Because containment has increased, and the complexity of the incident has decreased, the Southern Area Type I Red Team will transition tomorrow to a smaller Type III Team, the Southern Area Grey Team. On Tuesday, the Grey Team will assume command of the fire. 

Great Lakes Fire: The Great Lakes Fire, located within Croatan National Forest, one mile South-Southeast of New Bern, started on April 19th. The fire is suspected to be human-caused and is still under investigation. It is burning in pocosin swamp and mixed fuels within and around the footprint of the 2012 Dad Fire, which burned roughly 21,331 acres. Previous prescribed burning by the U. S. Forest Service helped slow fire spread by reducing the amount of burnable vegetation. No structures have been lost and none are currently threatened. 

Acreage: 32,400 acres Containment: 45% 

Personnel and Equipment: 219 total personnel; 2 helicopters, 14 Type-6 engines, 13 Type-2 tractor plow units, 1 drone, 1 fixed wing aircraft, 1 grader and 2 ambulances. 

Yesterday: Firefighters continued to make progress containing the fire, building firelines and mopping up. Road crews rocked Bender Road and Mattocks Road on the western side of the fire to improve them for fire equipment. Firefighters repaired structures used to flood canals at the southern end of the fire to extinguish fire burning deep in organic soils. A structure protection specialist assessed four structures on Catfish Lake and a Boy Scout camp in the Catfish Lake Area.

Today: Firefighters continue to mop up many areas of the fire, including Black Swamp Road. Firefighters are starting a sandbag operation to reinforce the water control structure flooding organic soils in the southern end of the fire. Although we have seen consistent rain over the last few days, it is not enough to saturate the soil and put out the fire. This flooding operation is critical to raising the water table and putting out the fire. Road crews continue to use gravel to improve Mattocks Road and Bender Road. Firefighters will continue to identify additional suppression and repair needs using drones and infrared technology. 

A structure protection specialist continues to work with local emergency management organizations to access and assess local communities to develop a structure protection plan. This plan can be used by both the U.S. Forest Service, State and local agencies to keep communities safer and respond quicker to future emergencies such as wildfires and hurricanes. 

Weather and Fire Behavior: Today's weather is expected to bring an additional 1.5 inches of rain as several rounds of showers and thunderstorms pass throughout the day. Southwesterly winds this afternoon with strong gusts of 25 mph. Temperatures will be in the mid to high 70’s and relative humidity will be 60-65%. Drier weather and windy conditions will develop Monday through Wednesday. 

Ground fuels continue to burn through the fire perimeter, however, today’s weather will greatly diminish fire behavior.

Fire behavior Analyst, Greg Titus, said, “Today is a day of zeros, zero rate of spread, zero flame length, zero probability of ignition and zero fire growth.”

The area south of Great Lake is still an area of main concern. The fire will continue to smolder and burn in the ground until water penetrates deep enough. 

Air quality: Information on current air quality data for North Carolina is at https://www.airnow.gov/.  

Closures: Road closures on County Line Road and Catfish Lake Road remain in effect. Forest Service Road 203 is also closed due to fire operations. Updates to road closures surrounding the fire is at https://drivenc.gov/. 

Temporary Flight Restriction: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) remains in place over the fire area; information is at Federal Aviation Administration website. This is necessary to protect aerial operations. If there are intrusions into the Temporary Flight Restrictions, we must stop aerial operations. 

We have had many offers of donations to firefighters. We are grateful for your support, but currently do not have the capacity for processing and storing donations on site. In lieu of donations to the Great Lakes Fire please consider making a monetary donation to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.