MEDIA ADVISORY: FIRE EVACUATION DRILL SET FOR MARCH 7, 1998

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MEDIA ADVISORY: FIRE EVACUATION DRILL SET FOR MARCH 7, 1998

When: Saturday, March 7, 1998
Time: 10:00 AM-3:00 PM
Where: Castle Hayne--Command Post at New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department Firing Range, Holly Shelter Road

RALEIGH -- The North Carolina Forest Service (NCFS) will hold its first forest fire evacuation exercise in New Hanover County on Saturday, March 7, 1998 in the Castle Hayne community.

The exercise will begin at 10:00 AM at a command post located at the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department Firing Range off of Holly Shelter Road. The drill is designed to increase awareness of the extreme fire danger in this section of New Hanover County. It is especially important since debris from hurricanes Fran and Bertha has significantly increased the threat of forest fires in this area.

Approximately 50 NCFS firefighters, including ground and aerial forces, area volunteer fire departments and area emergency personnel will participate in the four-hour long exercise. Firefighters will go door to door along Sidbury, Dairy Farm, Blue Clay, and Holly Shelter roads, talking to residents about the increased fire danger from the hurricanes. Residents will NOT be ask to leave their homes during the drill.

Firefighters will also conduct a survey to identify the most difficult homes to defend against a wildfire should one spread from the adjacent forest. If necessary, future evacuations will be based on this information.

This is the third year the NCFS has conducted an evacuation exercise in eastern North Carolina. For the last two years, the drill has been held near the Holly Shelter area of Pender County.

For more information, contact Bob Houseman at (910) 642-5093 or Lisa Schell at (919) 733-2162 ext. 262.

IF YOU WANT TO COVER THE EXERCISE: Staging will begin at the command post located at the Sheriff’s Department Firing Range off Holly Shelter Road (SR 1002). NCFS air tankers will make at least three aerial water drops: the first will be near the intersecton of Edna Buck and Sidbury Roads at 11:00. The second and third drops will be visible from the command post at 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM. In the event of bad weather, the exercise will be held the following Saturday, March 14, at the same location, beginning at 10:00 AM. DIRECTIONS TO FIRING RANGE: From I-40- take the Castle Hayne exit (#414) and head East on Holly Shelter Road (SR 1002). Firing Range entrance is on the right

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Date Posted: March 6

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