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As wildfires burn in western NC, Rangers reflect on lessons learned from Pilot Mountain wildfires

A 2012 wildfire led to new prevention and containment measures at Pilot Mountain State Park, that Rangers say, likely prevented the 2021 fire from being much worse.

PILOT MOUNTAIN, N.C. — The wildfires burning throughout the state may take many back to the Pilot Mountain fire from 2021. 

Thousands of acres were scorched after a campfire grew out of control. 

This was the second serious fire to occur at the park. 

After a fire in 2012, park officials implemented ways of preventing and containing any future fires. 

Park Superintendent Jason Anthony said controlled burns likely made the biggest difference... preventing the 2021 fire from being much worse. 

"You can have tremendous wildlife, benefits, hazard, fuel reductions, certain species are adaptive to fire, and will only propagate in the presence of fire so they are benefits, but we want to dress caution as well as the benefits. We don't talk about the benefits so people can go out and said fine whenever they want to because they think they're doing us a service. When we do a prescribed fire, it's under very strict conditions," Anthony said. 

As firefighters work to contain wildfires throughout western North Carolina and southern Virginia, rangers stress caution with any heat source.

The warning comes as firefighting resources are stretched thin across the state. 

 "We have people from this area, of course, being deployed to the Western counties, state park personnel from all over the state of being deployed to the Western counties. Even though the Piedmont is not is dry yet as the mountains, if something were to happen in the piedmont, you'd have to pull people off the west to come up with that," Anthony said. 

State rangers continue to discourage burning for counties that are not under a burn ban. 

They said that the little rain we are receiving on Friday is not enough to reduce the fire risk in our area. 

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