Billowing smoke could be seen for miles Tuesday morning from a fire on one of various islands dotting Lake Norman, fire officials said.
Just after sunrise, the Huntersville Fire Department released photos on Twitter of smoke from what the department identified as Lynch Island at the southern end of the 520-mile lake.
The island is off Henry Lane, the department said. Henry Lane is off N.C. 73 and extends along a Lake Norman peninsula.
Google Maps identifies a beach at the southern tip of the island as Hammock Beach.
The fire was expected to burn throughout Tuesday, but a morning thunderstorm appeared to have doused the remaining flames, according to fire department tweets.
In a severe thunderstorm warning at 7:45 a.m., the National Weather Service warned of quarter-size hail and 60-mph gusts for Huntersville, Charlotte and Charlotte’s airport.
“Mother-nature came through for us,” the department said on Twitter … that quick thunderstorm darkened the fire significantly.”
“Surrounding agencies are monitoring,” the department posted on Twitter earlier. “No need to report this fire to 911.“
Firefighters responded to the fire on Monday.
“Following initial suppression attempts, we’re going to allow it to burn for now,” the department posted. The cause is unknown, officials said.
A fire department spokesman couldn’t immediately be reached by The Charlotte Observer regarding the size of the island, the types of trees there and why fire officials were letting the fire burn itself out.
96 islands on the lake
Lake Norman has 96 islands, or areas that remained above water when the lake was created in 1963, according to Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists, a chapter of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation.
The islands encompass nearly 300 acres and nearly 30 miles of shoreline, according to the longtime group. A few of the islands cover more than 20 acres, while others are just rock piles or shoals.
Sixty islands have been identified as “significant wildlife habitat,” per volunteer surveys, the group reported in 2009.
Bird species, deer, squirrels, snakes, turtles and fish live on the islands, according to the group.
Duke Energy owns most of the islands, which are open to the public, according to Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists.
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