A popular state park in Orange County will be closed Thursday and early Friday morning for a controlled burn.

North Carolina State Parks and the Town of Hillsborough shared a release Wednesday warning residents the Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area will not be open to the public during the burn, which will take place around Brown Eflin Knob. The state park will reopen Friday at 10 a.m.

According to the parks service, the North Carolina Forest Service will assist with the 12-acre burn. The exercise will be a “low-intensity burn” but the community may still see white smoke over the course of the day.

Scheduled burns are a method to help prevent major forest fires. By occasionally burning the buildup of leaves and underbrush, it reduces the chance of them being fire hazards and promotes healthy growth on the forest floor. The North Carolina Forest Service also says controlled burns help the forest wildlife by encouraging this growth of new plants and exposing more insects or rodents to be eaten.

Wednesday’s release said this early spring period is the best time of the year for scheduled burns as leaf buildup often still has moisture, which will help keep the fire controlled.

You can learn more about controlled burns on the North Carolina Forest Service’s website. Wednesday’s release about the closure of Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area can be found here.

 

Photo via North Carolina State Parks.

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