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First Alert Weather team will program your weather radio for free

Submitted by Debra Worley, Digital Content Director
Wednesday, May 16th, 2012, 11:16am

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Weather Radio Wednesdays are back!

WECT and the First Alert Weather Team have joined forces again with Walgreens and Midland Radio to bring you Weather Radio Wednesdays.

For the next few weeks, the First Alert Weather Team will be at a different Walgreens location from 4:00-7:00 p.m. to help program your weather radio.

Every home and business should have a weather radio. While most radios provide programmable options for your specific county, the programming can be difficult.

So let the First Alert Weather Team program your radio for free! Bring ANY weather radio to our Wednesday location and we will program it for you.

Don't have a weather radio? Pick one up while you are there at Walgreens, and have it programmed for free.

Here's the upcoming Weather Radio Wednesday Schedule:

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Emergency service officials prepare for hazards

Submitted by Debra Worley, Digital Content Director
Wednesday, May 16th, 2012, 10:48am
Emergency service officials prepare for hazards

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Dozens of local officials are expected to gather in Brunswick County Wednesday for a Multi-Hazard Preparedness Conference.

According to a press release, Brunswick County Emergency Services will host the conference that will feature presentations from local, state and federal officials on various topics.

Authorities plan to spend the morning focusing on the upcoming hurricane season while the afternoon session will provide an overview of the nuclear plant.

The event will take place at the Progress Energy Brunswick Plant Media Center from 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.

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Neighbor captures million-dollar home fire on camera

Submitted by WECT Web Staff
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012, 7:27pm

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – A million-dollar vacation home in Oak Island is a total loss after flames burned it Monday night.

The Oak Island Fire Department was called to the two-story home on West Beach Drive just before 10:40 p.m.

Carl Barbour was in town checking on his beach home when he saw the flames coming from his neighbor's house.

"Flames were coming out of the roof and the wind was really bad and it looked like it was going to go to the neighboring two houses," he said.

Barbour says him and his family couldn't do much but watch as firefighters attempted to get the fire under control.

"We pulled up three chairs on the porch and unfortunately we had a good view of it," said Barbour. "It was just very, very scary."

Firefighters from numerous agencies managed to get the fire under control.  Fire officials say no other homes were damaged after their three hour battle with the flames.

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Frost advisory in effect for Brunswick Co. from 3-8 a.m.

Submitted by Ashley Barker, Community Web Producer
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012, 3:39pm
Frost advisory in effect for Brunswick Co. from 3-8 a.m.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – The combination of an unseasonably cold air mass, clear skies, and light winds could lead to a widespread frost and possibly some freezing temperatures over southeast North Carolina by early Thursday morning. 

Overnight lows could drop into the 35-40 degree range in the frost advisory area and could go below 32 in isolated spots in the freeze warning area.

Now that the growing season is under way it will be important to protect your delicate plants by covering them up or bringing them inside, if possible. The critical question Wednesday night will be the wind. If it stays in the 5-10 miles per hour range, we may avoid a widespread frost.  If winds are lighter than expected the frost and freeze will be more widespread overnight.

Freeze warning: Bladen, Pender, Duplin, and Onslow counties from 3-8 a.m. Thursday

Frost advisory: New Hanover, Brunswick, and Columbus counties from 3-8 a.m. Thursday

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.

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UPDATE: Bald Head Island fire may have been sparked by lightning

Submitted by WECT Web Staff
Sunday, April 8th, 2012, 12:20pm

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – An early morning fire on Bald Head Island destroyed a vacation home.

According to the Bald Head Island Chief of Public Safety, the fire sparked Wednesday morning around 5:00. Public Safety Chief Chip Munna, Jr. said bad lightning storms rolled through the area early in the morning, which may have sparked the blaze.

Munna said someone who lives across from the house saw flames pouring through the roof from across the marsh.

According to the Village of Bald Head Island officials, the fire was fully involved when crews arrived on scene. Firefighters from both Oak Island and Yaupon Beach helped to contain the fire within about an hour.

No one was inside the house at the time of the fire because it was a second/vacation property. The couple who owns the home reportedly lives in New Jersey.

Investigators are still looking into the fire but do not believe it's suspicious in nature.

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Brunswick Co. declared tsunami-ready

Submitted by WECT Web Staff
Monday, March 26th, 2012, 4:53pm

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – The Brunswick County Emergency Management office was recently re-certified as tsunami ready by the National Weather Service.

Later this week, officials will put that certification to the test with a tsunami readiness exercise.

According to Brunswick County Emergency Management Director Anthony Marzano, in the rare event a tsunami would strike this area, it could reach up to six feet.

"We don't have tsunamis very often, buy when we do they're very small," explained Marzano. "So, this exercise will give us the opportunity to practice something that we don't normally get to practice, and that's what the business of emergency management is."

Marzano said a tsunami wouldn't really impact buildings but could be dangerous if there are a lot of people on the beaches.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.

 

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Smoke plume from controlled burn off Midway Rd. showing up on radar

Submitted by Robb Ellis, Meteorologist
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012, 5:08pm
Smoke plume from controlled burn off Midway Rd. showing up on radar

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – A controlled burn is taking place off of Midway Road in Brunswick County.

The smoke plume is visible on WECT's First Alert radar because the smoke and ash is picked up just as if they were raindrops. Southwest winds have blown the smoke across eastern Brunswick and into southern New Hanover County.

David Hines, with the Wilmington Fire Department, reported that smoke is heavy in some areas on the south side of the city. He asked that citizens refrain from calling 911 unless they see flames.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.

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