CURRITUCK CO, NC – A wildfire threatening homes in southern North Carolina is causing health concerns north on the Outer Banks.

”Our Communications Center has gotten calls saying that smoke is visible on the beach,” Currituck County spokesman Randall Edwards told WVEC.com. “We’re not in danger of the actual fire reaching us, but we will get a lot of smoke if the wind is coming our way.”

Edwards also said residents in the Grandy area, which is in the southern part of the county before the Wright Memorial Bridge, report heavy smoke clouding the roadways.

A State of Emergency is in effect for Hyde and Washington counties from the fire that likely started by a lightning strike. About 1,700 acres are burning.

Officials are cautioning residents and tourists to stay inside if they have breathing problems.

Some homes are being evacuated in Washington County, where officials say more than three dozens homes are in danger from the fire.

According to the Associated Press, the wildfire has scorched up to 10,000 acres in the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina. The refuge includes 110,106 acres in Hyde, Tyrrell, and Washington counties.

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