shootingshooting

After rushing to Duke to shoot the spring football game, I took a few minutes at the station to respond to a few emails, hoping to not be noticed. Unfortunately it is difficult to not notice me, and it wasn't long before a producer yelled my name across the newsroom and asked if I liked fires. "Does it matter?" I responded. It didn't.

I was sent to check out a brushfire in Johnston County. Of course the road was blocked off when I arrived, so I had to play pack mule and schlep my gear almost half of a mile down the road. A few houses had been evacuated so I figured it would be worth checking out. Plus, I could use the walking.

There wasn't a lot to see when I first got there. Groups of firefighters standing around while the (presumably) rookies rolled up hoses. I began to look for the chief in charge so I could ask where I was allowed to go when I met Doug White, Assistant County Ranger. He was incredibly nice and made my job much easier.

Typically, any law enforcement at something like this would make me stay as far away as possible. When I asked Doug if I was allowed to walk down the street in hopes of catching a glimpse of some flames I was expecting to be shut down. Instead, he took me to his truck and threw me a fire jacket. Then he took me into the burning brush.

The cause of the fire was unknown at the time, but under investigation. At my arrival, the fire occupied approximately 40 acres. While fire departments and the Forest Service receive several of these types of calls a year, Doug noted that "this is a big one."

The fire was under control and almost put out, so it wasn't exactly dangerous. It was, however, pretty cool that he allowed me to do that. He took me into the clearing that had been burned out, pointed out a few things, and was patient as I grabbed more shots than I needed. I don't know how different things would have been if the fire was raging, or if I wasn't the only media there, but it was refreshing to experience a 100% cooperative (and friendly) group of law enforcement.