North Carolina Fire Threatens Buildings, Shuts Down Part Of Highway

Dec. 6, 2007
Blaze threatened more than 30 homes.

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. --

Firefighters worked for hours Wednesday afternoon and evening to contain a fire near Interstate 26 that threatened more than 30 homes and caused a backup on the highway.

Sky4 was overhead as traffic was crawling on I- 26 because of the smoky fire.

The Department of Transportation said that the fire in was Henderson County, south of Hendersonville, caused some lane closures until about 10 p.m.

Smoke began to affect traffic on the interstate at about 3:30 p.m.

The fire line was close to several homes in a subdivision, but firefighters were able to save all the structures except for one storage shed.

One homeowner said that a truck driver pulled over on I-26 and helped him spray water from a garden hose on the flames until firefighters could get there.

"I heard someone screaming outside, 'Is anyone home' So I came out to see what was going on and the whole place was just smoke. I couldn't see nothing," Keith Bishop said.

Bishop said that the flames came within 20 feet of his house.

Firefighters were able to save the house, but Bishop's storage building was burned.

Fire investigators said that they are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, but stressed that that all of North Carolina is under a state-wide burning ban.

Copyright 2007 by WYFF4.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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