An already hot day got even hotter after a combine caught fire in the Samarcand area of Eagle Springs on Thursday afternoon. Emergency units from Eagle Springs and Seven Lakes fire departments were dispatched around 4:40 p.m. to the scene and arrived to find the large piece of equipment and part of the field on fire.
According to officials, workers had just finished working the field with a combine between N.C. Highway 211 and Clement Road. They parked the equipment and left briefly only to return to the machine engulfed in flames.
A member of Moore County Public Safety arrived on scene shortly after and requested assistance from the N.C. Forest Service to be dispatched due to the rapidly spreading field fire around the machine.
All four tires on the combine exploded during the blaze, and a piece of the debris was thrown nearly 100 yards away.
The machine also happened to be parked under power lines, which caused one of them to come loose and fall to the ground. Duke Energy was dispatched to assess the damage and make necessary repairs, but it was unclear if any power was out in the area.
Responding units included Eagle Springs Fire Department, Seven Lakes Fire Department, N.C. Forest Service, Moore County Public Safety and Moore County EMS.
~Article, video, and photo by Sandhills Sentinel reporter Daniel Gwyn. Daniel has been reporting breaking news for Sandhills Sentinel since 2020.
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