Wildfire has burned 1,300 acres through South MS forest and smoke could linger for days
A fire that burned hundreds of acres in Harrison County this week was entirely contained Friday evening but its smoke will linger for days, Mississippi authorities said.
The flames did not reach homes. But the fire, called Carson Six, had burned 1,333 acres as of Friday afternoon, according to the Mississippi Interagency Coordination Center, which works with U.S. Forest Service and other agencies to track wildfires.
The fire’s cause was still under investigation on Friday evening, Anne Casey, a district ranger for the De Soto National Forest, said. Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said local fire officials had determined no cause and were awaiting the U.S. Forest Service’s ongoing investigation.
The fire started Wednesday morning and spread fast through the De Soto National Forest, near Carson Road and White Star Road. Authorities said flames threatened 10 structures on Wednesday. Firefighters protected those homes by Thursday and no damage was reported, Kevin Craft, an outreach officer at the Mississippi Forestry Service said.
The U.S. Forest Service warned that smoke will linger through the weekend.
“There’s going to be major smoke,” Craft said Thursday morning. “This is not a controlled burn.”
Firefighters protected structures by lighting flames in front of the wildfire to stop it from spreading, Craft said. The process is called backburning. Firefighters also created fire lines, or breaks in vegetation that acts as a barrier to flames. Crews will still be in the area monitoring the fire through the weekend, Casey said.
Authorities said the fire prompted no mandatory evacuations. Craft said no roads are closed but asked residents to avoid the area of Carson Road, where fire crews are based.
The Mississippi Coast was under a red flag warning on Wednesday when the flames began. The National Weather Service in Slidell warned low humidity and gusty winds had increased the risk of fires, and the agency asked residents to avoid burning. The warning expired Wednesday evening.
The fire was one of five in that burned this week in the DeSoto National Forest, which stretches from Harrison County to north of Wiggins. It was also the largest. The Coleman Creek Fire, which was the second-largest, burned 325 acres about 30 miles north of Wiggins, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The Forest Service said “interior fuels” will burn through the weekend and keep creating smoke. Smoke rises in the daytime, when the air is warmer, and settles in low-lying areas overnight and at dawn.
The U.S. Forest Service and Mississippi Forestry Commission fought the Carson Six fire. Harrison County Fire Rescue supplied them with water, Sullivan said. Some crews from Gulfport Fire also assisted.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 8:39 AM.