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Wildlife Refuge says Back Bay fire was wildfire, not 'controlled burn'

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge said there have been four wildfires in a week in the area. The large wildfire on Feb. 17 put itself out.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A fire burning near Back Bay and Sandbridge in Virginia Beach Thursday night caught many eyes.

Initially, emergency dispatchers from Virginia Beach said it was a controlled burn, but the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) later said this was a wildfire.

What's more, NWR spokeswoman Megan Reed said it was one of four wildfires in the area in the last week. There were two on Thursday, Feb. 10, one on Saturday, Feb. 12, and the large fire this Thursday night, Feb. 17.

The last one burned from about 8:45 p.m. Thursday to 12:30 a.m. Friday. 13News Now crews found a lot of smoke and flames burning around midnight.

The fire didn't damage any buildings, Reed said.

"Refuge fire personnel were prepared to provide suppression activities on each wildfire, however in all four incidences, the wildfires extinguished themselves without firefighter interaction," she said.

Neighbors in Sandbridge recounted the smoke and flames late Thursday night.

"You couldn't miss the bright, orange sky," said resident Jules Rookstool. "You couldn't see the fires from our windows at first, you could only see them, down at the end of the street."

"And I could see it traveling [south], it climbing," said another neighbor, Cheryl Tomik. 

Tomik told 13News Now her home is just across the water from where the most recent fire burned. But she said it was all too close for comfort for fear it could spread.

"We were told that the water will stop it, but it doesn't stop the sparks and this was a huge fire," said Tomik. 

Credit: 13News Now

Tomik also expressed concern about the lack of information from officials about the fire Thursday night. 

Kari Cobb, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson, said they tried to get what little information they had out on social media and to community partners, as soon they could. 

Officials don't know the cause of any of the four fires yet, but Reed said NWR is investigating.

Back Bay NWR does sometimes plan "controlled burns," carefully managed fires an ecosystem can benefit from. The last ones they set were on Feb. 10 and 11, but those weren't in the same area as this wildfire.

"Refuge staff will always notify the public and local partners prior to the ignition of prescribed fire at the Refuge," Reed said.

As the investigation into wildfires carries on, Cobb offered some general wildfire prevention and safety reminders. 

"We're seeing a lot of campfires, people cooking while they're camping, any of those types of open flames, you just want to be very, very careful with that," said Cobb.

And she said, "It's always good to check the fire restrictions, depending on where you're going and what the fire level is, the fire danger level." 

Additionally, Cobb advised drivers carrying trailers to avoid dragging chains on the pavement in order to prevent sparks. 

From now until April 30, Virginia is under a “burn ban." It prohibits open-air burning before 4 p.m. if the fire is within 300 feet of the woods of nearby dry grass.

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