Huge fire in Fayetteville sparked from logging timber leftover from project canceled in 2018

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Flames shot high into the sky in Fayetteville on Monday morning.

A fire ignited a large storage pile of logging timber on Shaw Mill Road off of Murchison Road around 11 p.m. Sunday night.

The fire grew overnight, resulting in flames shooting dozens of feet into the sky on Monday morning.

Fire crews told ABC11 they were going to have to just contain it until it burns out. Fayetteville Fire Department is staffing a crew at the fire around-the-clock until the fire is extinquished.

"Our concern is this afternoon, as the humidity drops, is possibly having spot fires in the surrounding wooded areas. So that's what our goal is right now, just to keep those under control," Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Dove said.

The official cause of the fire remains unknown.

The logging timber that caught fire was left behind from the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Project, which was canceled in 2018.

Assistant Fire Chief Jonathan Ferguson told ABC11 on Monday afternoon that the fire was contained.

"A large amount of material continues to smolder and the fire department is wetting down the perimeter, the unburned areas, and the hot spots. Heavy equipment is also on scene moving the unburned wooden bridge mats further away," Ferguson said in a written statement.

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