Fire in the Pines is an educational festival dedicated to raising positive awareness about controlled burning in the longleaf pine ecosystem.

Without controlled burning the longleaf pines in the southeast United States would disappear. So, too, would the red-cockaded woodpeckers, venus flytraps and a host of other carnivorous and rare plants that need fire to thrive and survive. The importance of controlled burning is cause for an educational festival to spread awareness!

Fire once occurred naturally and regularly across North Carolina and the Southeast. Low-intensity fires burned every few years fueled by grass, leaves, pine straw, and other forest debris. They kept the forest open, allowing sunlight to penetrate to its floor and reducing buildup of dangerous fuel loads. Fire suppression altered the landscape, allowing fuels to accumulate and putting people and communities in jeopardy. Without fire, many native plants and animals would disappear and the safety of southeastern plant and wildlife communities would be at risk.

Partners

The Fire Festival is a collaboration between many different organizations to spread awareness about controlled burning and its benefits.

History

The Fire in the Pines Festival began as Fire in the Lakes and was first held in March of 2010 at the Boiling Spring Lakes Community Center.  The festival was founded by Angie Carl, the Nature Conservancy’s Coastal Plain Fire and Restoration Manager at the time. The intent was the same as it is today- to raise awareness about the importance of controlled burning and educate the public about it’s relationship to the longleaf pine forest. The first festivals were successful but considerably smaller, attendance was at about 300.

The move to Wilmington at Halyburton Park in 2014 resulted in a change in the festival’s name to “Fire in the Pines Festival” to better reflect the purpose of the event. The time of year was also moved from the Spring to October during Fire Prevention Week to bring about more awareness. The move to Halyburton Park was a success with approximately 3,000 people attending in 2014, more than all the previous year’s attendance combined.

Angie Carl has always valued the need for people to better understand controlled fire and its role in the healthy forests in our area. She brought a curiosity to figuring out how to have the community come together and appreciate controlled fire. She was a powerhouse in getting the Fire in the Pines Festival off the ground and built this amazing event for the community with the community. Angie grew this festival, and the public’s fire awareness from a small festival in Boiling Springs Lake to the amazing event in the last few years at Halyburton Park.

Today

The festival has grown into a free environmental event for the entire family and in-person events are held each October. There will be kids activities, educational opportunities, live music, food trucks, fire equipment, and a live controlled burn!  There will also be a series of events in the week leading up to the festival.