Sandhills Home June/July 2026

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June/July 2026, Issue 12: Moore County Drought • Summer Festivals • Emergency Preparation

• Local Real Estate Market Snapshot • Local Resources

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2026

Welcome!

Welcome to Issue 12 of Sandhills Home, where we focus on the topics impacting our community, homes, farms, and lifestyle across the Sandhills. As our region continues to experience severe drought conditions and increased wildfire concerns, this issue highlights the important work local fire departments, emergency personnel, safety officials, and community leaders are doing to help protect residents, farms, and natural resources throughout the area.

Inside, you’ll find practical home safety and conservation tips to help families prepare during drought conditions, along with important precautions homeowners can take to reduce fire risks around their properties. We also feature a special section dedicated to barn and farm safety, including fire-conscious building practices, emergency evacuation planning, landscape design strategies to help minimize hazards, and safety considerations for protecting livestock and animals.

In addition, this issue includes an update on the evolving Sandhills real estate market, plus a guide to summer festivals, events, and activities happening throughout the region. We hope this edition provides valuable insight, helpful resources, and inspiration as we continue working together to protect and enjoy the unique lifestyle that makes the Sandhills such a special place to call home.

New Construction in The Country

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There is still positive news for sellers. Median sales prices have remained relatively stable with only a slight .8% decrease, and list-to-sales price ratios continue to hold strong. This shows that when homes are strategically priced, well-prepared, and effectively marketed, sellers are still achieving strong results.

In today’s evolving Sandhills market, hiring the right Realtor matters more than ever. Experience, pricing strategy, marketing expertise, and negotiation skills can make the difference between a home sitting on the market and achieving a successful sale. Proper positioning and promotion are key to standing out in an increasingly competitive market. My goal is to guide sellers confidently through every stage of the process while delivering exceptional representation, communication, and results.

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Drought, Fire and a Landscape of Caution

Moore County is enduring its driest stretch in over a century, and the fire-shaped landscape is feeling every degree of it.

by Greg Girard • Photos by Amanda Jakl and other contributed images

It doesn’t take much. A floating ember from a backyard fire pit. An errant firework on the 4th of July. A lit cigarette flicked out of a car window. Moore County’s landscape of longleaf pine savannas, sandy soils, and dry woodlands has always had a complicated relationship with fire. For residents and landowners here, understanding fire prevention is not an abstract exercise. It is a matter of protecting homes, property, and a landscape unlike any other in the eastern United States.

That relationship with fire is under particular stress right now. Moore County is deep in the grip of one of the most significant droughts in recent memory. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 2026 has been the second-driest year to date in 132 years of record-keeping for the county, with rainfall running more than five inches below normal through March alone—the fifth driest March on record. Even with some much-needed rain days recently, the state’s Drought Management Advisory Council has warned that conditions are unlikely to improve meaningfully until well into summer.

ing. The local fire marshal has the authority to lift burn bans within 100 feet.

“We still have a long way to go with drought recovery,” said North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler when announcing the burn ban lifting. “While drought alone isn’t a hazardous forest fire condition, it can be a stressor that contributes to fires burning longer, more intensely and being more difficult to control. Responsible, safe burning is critical all the time but especially during peak wildfire season. Pay attention to weather conditions and check fire danger before burning.”

So, even after lifting the burn ban and under current drought conditions, outdoor burning of any kind poses an elevated risk.

Activities that might seem routine in wetter years—burning yard debris, cooking over a campfire, clearing brush, managing fence lines—can turn dangerous quickly when fuel moisture is this low.

When burning is allowed, basic precautions are non-negotiable: avoid windy days even when winds seem light, establish a cleared perimeter before ignition, have water or fire extinguishers ready, and remain on-site until the fire is completely cold.

In May, the state lifted a burn ban for all 100 counties but that does not apply to fires starting within 100 feet of a build3

Continued on next page

“If you turn your back, it only takes a minute and that fire can spread quickly,” says Southern Pines Fire Chief Mike Cameron.

“If you turn your back, it only takes a minute and that fire can spread quickly,” says Southern Pines Fire Chief Mike Cameron. “So that 100-foot buffer is very important. Keep the fire at least 100 feet from anything you don’t want to burn.

And stay with that fire until it is completely out. When you get to the stage where it is just smoldering, we want you to soak it down with water or cover it with dirt. It’s about making sure the fire doesn’t have a direct path to your house or someone’s else house.”

For residents whose neighborhoods border woodland, the wildland-urban boundary demands extra attention. Clearing dead vegetation and debris from around structures, maintaining at least 30 feet of defensible space, and keeping dry brush cut back during high-risk periods are all steps that can make a meaningful difference when a wildfire approaches.

If a fire does become out of control, Cameron has a simple solution: call 911. “If the fire is getting dangerous, call for help.

The fire department never minds making house calls. You call 911, we show up. So, if there’s a problem, don’t try to fight it yourself.”

That also applies to reporting a wildfire. Cameron says local fire departments have a number of resources and agency relationships that can respond to a wildfire, depending on its severity and location, so being cautious and vigilant is never discouraged. And our area is well-positioned to address most situations. “Southern Pines was very forward thinking after our last serious drought,” says Cameron. “The town created additional containment areas for water and so we have 140 million gallons of water in storage to use when needed.”

A prescribed remedy

Bill Hartness. “We try to burn on a 3-year rotation. This is the way our local ecosystem has adapted to fire, by having very frequent low-intensity fires. It cleans up the forest, knocks down the shrub species and small hardwood trees and cleans up the leaf litter and pine straw. The burn then returns all those nutrients back into the soil, creating a healthier ecosystem.”

Lands managed with prescribed burns are far less likely to produce the explosive fire behavior that can destroy property and overwhelm communities. During the current drought, that distinction matters enormously.

One of the most important—and most misunderstood— tools in long-term fire prevention is the prescribed burn. The longleaf pine ecosystem that defines the Sandhills evolved over thousands of years alongside frequent, low-intensity fire. Lightning strikes and intentional burning by Indigenous peoples historically kept the forest floor open and prevented the accumulation of dense, dry fuel.

When burning was suppressed through much of the 20th century, as government policy actively discouraged the practice, the consequences were severe. Hardwood shrubs invaded the forest floor, building the dry fuel that is ideal for fire to dangerous levels.

Prescribed burns reverse that trend. By burning under carefully controlled conditions—specific wind speeds, humidity levels, and fuel moisture—trained crews mimic the historic fire cycle without threatening structures or losing control. The North Carolina Forest Service and other state and local agencies work with private landowners across Moore County to plan and carry out these burns annually.

The results are evident locally. At Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve near Southern Pines, prescribed burning has restored fire-dependent longleaf communities that had deteriorated without regular fire. And at the Nicks Creek Longleaf Reserve, controlled burns are central to long-term restoration of native longleaf pine habitat.

“It never stops,” says Weymouth Woods State Park Ranger

Farming Impact

For farmers in Moore County, timing is everything. According to Emmanuel Torres, professor of horticultural science at NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, earlyseason drought limits successful germination, root development and early canopy formation of crops. And even if rainfall improves later in the season, crops rarely fully recover.

“If drought persists, some reduction in acreage or shifts in planting decisions could occur, particularly in non-irrigated systems,” said Torres in a recent article from NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “However, many decisions for row crops like corn are already finalized by this point in the season. More likely, we will see impacts on yield rather than large changes in acreage. Longer-term, repeated drought conditions could influence future planting strategies.”

In the short-term, farmers often have very little flexibility to change planting decisions because they’ve already commitContinued on page 7

5

June & July

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Farming Impact Continued from page 5 ted to the year’s crop rotation well before spreading the seeds.

Instead, they face growing costs through increased irrigation, lower yields and the threats of fire.

The financial weight can become too heavy to carry. Crop insurance can offset some losses, but premiums are rising alongside the risks, and coverage rarely makes a farmer whole after a difficult season. What’s left is a quiet calculation of whether to hold on for another year or walk away from land their families may have farmed for generations.

Community of Conservation

There are some simple steps Moore County residents can take to help mitigate the drought’s impact. The county is currently under Stage 1 (voluntary conservation) water restrictions. The aim of Stage 1 is to encourage residents to reduce their normal water use by 20 percent. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, household plumbing leaks waste more than one trillion gallons of water annually, so county officials suggest a simple way to help conserve is to check plumbing, faucets and toilets for leaks. (Fixing leaks will

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not only help conserve but offers the added benefit of a lower water bill.)

Additionally, bathrooms account for nearly 75 percent of water usage in a home, so taking shorter showers, which can save up to seven gallons a minute, and turning off the faucet when face washing, shaving and teeth brushing can significantly reduce water consumption.

Other conservation tips include installing reduce-flow aerators on showerheads, having a low-flow toilet or placing a brick in the toilet tank to reduce water use, running the dishwasher and washing machine only when fully loaded and watering the lawn every third day before 9 a.m.—manageable solutions with a lasting impact.

The longleaf pine ecosystem has survived centuries of fire, drought and human pressure. Its resilience is built into its biology. But ecosystems recover over decades. Homes and livelihoods do not. As Moore County waits out what could be a long, dry summer, the burden falls on individual choices—how close to a building a fire burns, how often a lawn gets watered, how quickly someone calls 911. In a landscape this dry, caution is never overcautious.

Continued on next page

We are proud to announce that Audrey Wiggins has been honored with one of the highest distinctions in the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate network — the prestigious Emerald Elite Founder’s Club Award. This elite recognition places Audrey among the top 1% of agents nationwide and celebrates her exceptional performance, unwavering dedication to her clients, and commitment to excellence in every transaction.

In addition to this remarkable achievement, Audrey was ranked #14 in the nation for sales production among all Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate agents, further solidifying her reputation as a leading force in luxury and lifestyle real estate. Her professionalism, market expertise, and passion for delivering outstanding results continue to set her apart as a trusted advisor and top-performing agent. Congratulations, Audrey, on this extraordinary national recognition and well-deserved success.

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Fire Prevention Tips Before You Start a Fire

• Check local burn bans and weather conditions before lighting any outdoor fire • Choose a safe location — use an established fire ring or pit at least 10 feet from structures, trees, and dry vegetation • Keep a bucket of water, garden hose, or fire extinguisher nearby before you start

Building and Managing Your Fire • Keep fires small and manageable • Never leave a fire unattended, even briefly • Don’t burn on windy days - embers can travel far and ignite surrounding areas • Avoid burning during dry spells when fire risk is highest

Yard and Property Maintenance General Habits • Never discard cigarettes or matches outdoors without fully extinguishing them • Don’t use fireworks in dry or windy conditions (Southern Pines Fire Chief Mike Cameron suggests skipping fireworks all together. Along with the potential of starting a fire, they’re also dangerous. “We have several hundred injuries every year in North Carolina from people shooting off fireworks.”)

• Be aware of your local fire danger rating (products.climate.ncsu.edu/fwip/nc_danger/) and adjust outdoor activities accordingly • Have an evacuation plan ready if you live in a wildfire-prone area

Call 911 to report fires

• Clear dead leaves, dry grass, and debris from around your home regularly • Keep grass mowed and vegetation trimmed, especially near structures • Store firewood and other flammable materials away from your house • Clean out gutters - dry leaves and debris are easy ignition points

Putting Out a Fire • Drown the fire completely with water - douse all embers, not just the flames • Stir the ashes and douse again until everything is cool to the touch • Never bury hot coals - they can smolder underground and reignite

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Fire!

The four letter word that strikes the most fear in all equestrians.

McCleod offers more inside into these fires:

In general, horse people are planners. There are feeding schedules to keep, packing lists to make, blanketing charts, vaccine records, farrier schedules, and so much more. But planning for a fire? Not always the top on one of the many lists (except maybe the initial purchase of a fire extinguisher, but is it charged?)

The three ingredients of fire development (fuel, oxygen, ignition source) are typically found in every barn. Stacked hay, dry shavings, dust, and dirt provide the fuel, oxygen is in the environment, and ignitions like engines, electric sources, and spontaneous combustion from hay or manure all lend to the perfect storm for a fire. Add in a barn manager who is trying to keep alive some fragile animals and things can get overlooked.

The primary cause of 80-85% of barn fires is human error.

This includes smoking in or around the barn, open flames in or near the barn, overloaded electrical circuits, improperly cured and stored hay, improperly disposed manure, or motorized equipment or vehicles parked in or next to the barn. The less probable cause is lightning strikes.

“Spontaneous Combustion is a chemical reaction that occurs when heat builds to 130 degrees and produces flammable gas that can ignite when air is introduced. Hay insulates and holds or generates heat. The larger the stack the less cooling occurs to offset the build up of heat. Hay temperature in between bales and inside individual bales should be monitored with a temperature probe and if the temperature is around 130-degrees the bale(s) should be safely removed from the structure and set in an area no less than 50-feet away from any structure or highly flammable spaces where efforts should be made to suppress the risk of fire. When bales reach 175-degrees or higher there is a high probability that fire will ignite if the bale is opened introducing air. It is recommended that before you open a questionable bale or hay or straw that you have the bale located in a safe area, have an appropriate operable fire extinguisher in hand or have notified the local fire department to request their assistance.”

Other considerations to how fires spread include:

Fire Dynamics

• Fire typically moves faster when spreading uphill than when spreading downhill • Less slope in the terrain = Less distance needed / More slope in the terrain = More distance needed • Grass, brush, and timber and landscape vegitation can be extremely combustible. The vegetation can burn with great intensity and produce firebrands and burning embers that can become wind-driven hazards.

• A wildfire can move from shrub to shrub and tree to tree and can also travel vertically from the ground up into the treetops, resulting in a catastrophic crown fire (a fire that can travel at an incredible pace through the tree tops.

Understanding a bit about how fire happens in a barn setting helps to better plan how to prevent it. Tori McCleod of 4HLAS and a local fire fighter offered some insight into how fires operate.

“Research into the incidents that have resulted in fatalities shows that by the time someone noticed the fire, it would be out of control and quickly consume the building. As a rule of thumb, fire doubles in size each MINUTE and follows strict rules of physics related to fuel load, ventilation, and oxygen availability. That means that usually by the time a flame is noticed, the fire department will NOT be able to get to the facility in time to save any people or horses trapped in the barn.

It is not the flame that kills the horses or people - it’s the smoke inhalation.

“An animal in a stall usually has less than 30 seconds to be rescued before suffering severe internal damage from smoke and heat inhalation as the fire quickly spreads. After 30 seconds, some injury has occurred. After 1 minute, the lungs are seared and the human or animal begins to suffocate or asphyxiate. By 3 minutes, they have succumbed to the internal damage.”

Barns have a high amount of fuel that lend to smoldering fires. Bedding, hay, and manure all provide fuel that can combust, sometimes smoldering for hours before becoming noticeable with smoke or flames. If caught early, these can be easily brought under control, but once they get beyond a smolder, they can burn at the same rate as gasoline, just longer in duration.

Construction Considerations The fire prevention process in barns begins long before the structure is even built.

Seth Mabus of Mabus Farm and General Contracting emphasizes the importance of proper planning when it comes to barn construction.

“Time spent in the planning process will save everyone a lot of money, time, and frustration in the long run,” Mabus emphasized. “Understanding the layout of the land - elevation, how the air travels, and getting people in and out easily, will make the barn layout more efficient and keep major expensive renovations and regrets to a minimum.”

Planning also means taking a deep look at how the barn will be utilized. Issues like how many horses will potentially be housed, the pull of all electric appliances (bucket heaters, therapeutic devices, etc…), storage for hay and anything with 10

requirements of the barn and if things like electrical supply and storage will be adequate.

“You have to go in knowing that renovations after the fact are much more expensive,” Mabus explains. “For example, if you want to install more electricity, that’s going to cost more than what it would cost to have it in the first build.”

“You also want to be able to store things like hay, shaving, and anything with an engine away from the horse structure,” Mabus continued. “So you might be looking at the need for additional builds.”

McCleod also encourages barn owners to install the appropriate detection and sprinkler systems in barns in order to ensure the best operation.

“Typical alarm systems are sensitive to dust, humidity and other things commonly found in animal housing areas and often generate false alarms. Also, if your system is monitored by a central monitoring company (SimplySafe, CPI, Security Central, ADT, etc.), have an audible alarm to alert you or a neighbor of a problem.

An alarm and sprinkler system are the least utilized but most proven methods to detect and suppress a fire in the early stages – when it is possible to extinguish it. Also remember that if you have a sprinkler system in the facility to ensure that all of the sprinkler heads are clear from obstructions that would prevent heat to immediately reach the activator or prevent water flow from reaching the fire (i.e. hay stacked under, in front of, or around the sprinkler head.”

an engine, and even the landscaping around the barn all should be considered when preparing for a barn build (or looking at an existing barn).

“The electric system is a place to really spend some time planning,” Mabus said. “Making sure the system can handle the load you intend on using, and also making sure proper GFCI outlets and outdoor protection is used, especially around water and outside outlets.”

Just like Mabus, McCleod encourages everyone to look at the accessibility of the barn. Her list of considerations includes: • Sharp Angled Driveways / Roadways - Larger trucks and trailers along with long, tall, heavy weight emergency response vehicles should be able to access any area around the individual structures. It is a proven fact that a truck towing a 40ft gooseneck trailer can turn sharper than an average nonarticulating fire engine therefore can access tighter, narrower turns and entry/exit points.

• One Ingress / Egress Option – Only one vehicle can enter and/or exit at a time • Narrow Driveways / Roads - Narrow driveways where only one vehicle can travel at a time • Dirt Roads / Rough Terrain – Fire apparatus are generally extremely heavy and can get stuck in deep sand or uneven terrain • Limited Clearance (tree limbs/archways/signs) – Some driveways are aesthetically pleasing to the eye instead of being practical for larger vehicles (some are 9-10ft tall, 8ft wide, 25ft long) to easily access without risk of becoming stuck or causing The unfortunate fact of nature is that even with the best predamage to the vehicle planning, emergency situations can still arise. Having a specific • Bridges (weight capacity) emergency plan mapped out will help everyone on site know • Secured Gates (gates can be breached but that takes time to their role amongst what needs to be done. complete)

Formulating a Plan

Existing Facilities

“A good response plan all comes down to four steps,” The same considerations apply when shopping for a potential explained McCleod. “Early detection of the fire, alert existing barn. The first step is making sure that the structure notification for response or on-site action by a person, itself is built to code. alarm, or camera, execution of an extinguishment plan, and “[In the Sandhills] you sometimes see some work done execution of the emergency evacuation plan.” by a handyman or someone’s friend adding an addition or doing some renovations,” Mabus warned. “By working with a Fire Department Pre-Plans otherwise known as Pre-Incident qualified real estate agent, they can help go through the GIS Planning (PIP), is a tool that first responders and firefighters system and make sure proper permits were pulled.” can utilize to be better prepared for an emergency response to Secondly, (back to the planning part) is knowing the usage a specific location. It is commonly created with the aid of the 11

property owner to understand what crews may face when responding to an incident at that specific location.

• Access routes: Clear paths for emergency vehicles to reach the building or pasture areas which include any gates, gate codes, alternate entry / exit points, and areas that are off-limits due to weight limits such as bridges, septic areas, and areas where the ground tends to stay wet or muddy.

• Hazardous materials: Location and types of dangerous substances in the building.

• Utility shut-off points: Where to turn off gas, water, and electricity. Are there solar panels that back-feed into the electrical supply or generator even when the main electrical power is disconnected?

• Building layout and design: Details about the structure’s floor plans, exits and access points, stories, lofts (with or without any drop through doors for hay or other obstacles), living areas, lounges with appliances, hay/bedding storage areas, etc. This also includes what the building is made out of as different materials impact firefighting strategies.

• Adjacent Structures: Hay / Bedding storage, vehicle storage, additional animal housing areas, living quarters, etc…

• Fire protection systems: Fire alarms, sprinklers, and smoke detectors, including fire extinguisher type and location.

• Water Supply: Locations for firefighters to access the nearest fire hydrant or water source: a pond, pool, or creek to draft water from. For water sources requiring drafting, the fire truck will need to be able to safely and easily access an area in close proximity to the water source in order to deploy the siphon from the truck to pump the water.

• Occupancy Levels and Locations: Number of people and horses in the building at different times.

• Evacuation Procedures: Clear instructions for occupants to leave safely during emergencies. Clear instructions for emergency responders and on-site personnel for the evacuation and relocation with containment of animals on the premises.

• Emergency Contacts: Who to notify in case of an emergency? Which veterinarian should be notified who may be familiar with the animals on the premises? Who can be contacted to transport animals to medical facilities if warranted? Who can be contacted to temporarily stable and/or confine the animals until a more permanent option is available?

Who has authority to make decisions for your animals, including payment of expenses, during the owner's absence?

You can also contact your local 911 Emergency Communications agency and ask if there is a place where notes about your facility could be added to their Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system in the event of an emergency (any emergency) at your address… such as gate codes, emergency contact information, special needs persons on-site, alternate access areas, and areas for vehicles.

Within the operations of the barn, everyone should be familiar with the emergency plan. This includes where 12

pertinent information is posted, and where emergency equipment is located.

ABC type fire extinguishers should be stationed at every entrance/exit and every 50 feet (non sprinklered facility) or 75 feet (sprinklered facility). These should be serviced annually, and all staff members and students should be aware how to properly operate them.

Pertinent information around the barn should be labeled and identified using reflective decals/ tape that can be easily visible by flashlight in the dark: stall numbers, stall door instructions (latch/stall guards/etc.), utilities locations (circuit breaker, gas, solar panels, etc.), room identifiers and exit locations.

McCleod encourages everyone to work through the plan of horse evacuation before it becomes necessary. Her points to consider include: • A barn layout that enables free range for horses in stalls into sizable paddocks (or directly into a fenced pasture) via an exterior door, and by just opening a gate the containment area extends into a larger pasture.

• Condition your horses to self-exit the stall when the door is opened, with or without a halter and lead rope.

• Consider ‘fire lanes’ for rapid self-evacuation when the doors are open. Fire Lanes are areas that are fenced or roped off so that when the stall door is opened, the horse can freely maneuver to a pasture space.

• Make sure that all stalls, paddocks, pastures are equipped with appropriate sized halters and suitable lead ropes for each animal confined based on size and ease of application during an emergency. Place the halters and lead ropes at the entry / exit points to the confinement area.

• Have containment areas nearby so that horses can be quickly and efficiently evacuated to a ‘safer’ area. The farther the containment area is from the barn then more time it will take to evacuate one and return for another and so on.

It is natural to be concerned for individual horses when mandating their temporary co-existence during an emergency.

It should be assumed that there will be altercations between the horses and potentially minor to serious injuries, however the risk of injury is still better than certain death if left inside a burning structure.

Daily Practices

Daily safety practices will reduce the unknown in the case of an emergency. Practices like parking all vehicles at least 50 feet from the structure to reduce risk of engine malfunction causing a spark, or keeping horse’s halters and leads on the outside of the stalls (not wrapped), for easy access.

Electrical practices are always an important subject around barns, and having regular inspection of the condition of wires and appliances. Wiring should never be exposed to environmental conditions, water, wildlife or flammable materials like hay, cobwebs, blankets, dust, etc.). This includes the location of electrical outlines, and the condition of the internal workings should be inspected regularly to check for

RULES TO FOLLOW in the event of a fire 1. DO NOT go into the interior barn aisle barn of a structure. Call the fire department. If you enter the structure and the fire department has to prioritize entering the structure to locate and rescue you or other humans it may delay the rescue of the animals in the barn.

2. DO NOT open stall doors and chase animals out into areas that are not fenced. A loose horse may run down to the roadway and get hit by a vehicle or the responding fire truck. Also consider that most horses, and other animals, that are not used to routinely leaving their stalls unassisted or for the purposes of “freedom” and not “work” may be reluctant to leave their stalls as that is often considered a “safe space” for them or if they do leave and are not restrained or contained they often will return to the barn / stall even if smoke and fire are present.

3. DO NOT use a blindfold on a horse to lead it except as a last resort. This is not the movies, blindfolded horses may react with extreme fear, fight or flight instincts, and injure or kill a handler, first responder, or bystander.

4. DO remind the responding fire dept. of any hazards (gas tanks, diesel cans, propane tanks) around the barn.

5. DO shut off the electrical service to the barn immediately, and initiate the sprinkler system (if available) or use fire extinguishers directly on the smoldering area.

6. DO remove vehicles and trailers from around the facility to allow responders to access as close to the barn as possible. (This should be done as part of the Fire Prevention plan - not done during an emergency response).

7. DO NOT attempt to remove tack or other non-living items from the barn. It is not worth your life.

dust, hay, insects, and cobwebs.

Extension cords should only be plugged into an approved outlet and the ampacity of the cord should be appropriate for the appliance to which it’s connected. Cords should be inspected for damage or deterioration, and shouldn’t be fixed to the structure, including going through walls, or under doors or mats. And be out of reach of horses.

To minimize the risk of electric appliances mixing with fuel sources (dirt/cobwebs/etc) light fixtures should be covered with a protective casing and fans should be agricultural-grade (enclosed motors) with three-prong (ground wire) plugs. As convenient as they may be, reducing the use of heated buckets and bucket heaters will reduce the common risk of them shorting out or overheating.

If electric fence lines need to run into the barn, the wire and the connection points should be insulated so if it was corroded or rusted, causing an electrical arc, it would be less likely to ignite a nearby fuel source.

• Do not wait to evacuate! If the fire is within a few miles of your property you need to be contacting resources in your emergency plan to put them on standby and be gathering up all the necessary vehicles, supplies, and moving animals closer to the trailer location or in smaller containment for easier and faster transition to the trailer. If the fire is a couple of miles from your property then you should have your truck fueled up, trailer hooked up facing out the driveway and be loading your horses with a plan already in place on where to take them. It is better to waste time and resources to evacuate for no reason than to not evacuate in time and suffer the consequences.

• Consider you may not be able to make a return trip for other animals or belongings.

• Prioritize your animals. It may sound harsh to have to consider this but if you only have a three horse trailer and have six horses - do you transport your expensive upper level show horse, your child’s pony, your school master lesson horse, your breeding stallion, your pregnant mare with a foal from a stallion that is now deceased, or the horse you have had for 20+ years since it was a foal and is now retired? What are your criteria for making the hard decisions? Do you load all the horses who are known to handle well and load quickly first then hope to return for the others or do you take the time to load difficult horses who may be on the top of your priority list? Make those decisions now because you will not have time or the ability to think rationally during an emergency.

• Don’t rely on neighbors in the general area to assist you and they may be evacuating as well.

• Plan your evacuation route and have an alternate route in the event the primary route is inaccessible due to fire or emergency response vehicles. You do not want to be in a position to have to drive a long distance in reverse or try to turn around a truck and trailer when you are in a panicked state in a high-stress situation that is time sensitive.

• Make sure that all stalls, paddocks, pastures are equipped with halters and lead ropes for each animal. Place the halters and lead ropes at the entry / exit points to the confinement area.

In the Event of a Fire

The idea behind all this planning, is that if an emergency occurs, there is a clear path through the chaos.

“With over two decades of training with veterinarians, fire/ rescue professionals, animal control and law enforcement officers have proven to us that PEOPLE do not instinctively know how to help a horse in these extremely dangerous emergency situations,” McCleod stated. “At the same time - ANIMALS do not instinctively understand how to help themselves, or have the capacity to understand that you are there to help. Too many people have been severely injured and died attempting to rescue horses from barn fires.”

In those two decades, McCleod has seen more than her fair share of chaos as a fire fighter and in large animal rescue. She has developed a list of rules to follow in the event of a fire emergency. If there is the threat of a nearby fire, McCleod emphasizes that it’s best to act quickly, even if it means being over-cautious. Her points to think through: 13

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Contact us - info.SandhillsHome@gmail.com for ad sizes, rates and deadlines. Published every other month.

Summer Events in the Sandhills

It is safe to say that summer is upon us and activities around the Sandhills are plentiful! If you listen closely, you can hear music wafting through the cool night air and the wizz of a golf ball flying by the sun.

Southern Pines First Friday Concert Series

June 5 - A live performance by the Asheville-based soul band Hustle Souls, 5-9PM on the First Bank Stage and outdoor greenspace at the Sunrise Theater. This is a free, family-friendly community event, bring your own lawn chairs or blankets. Food trucks will be on-site.

Malcolm Blue Farm’s Blue & Brews Festival

June 13 - Malcolm Blue Farm - bluegrass performances and yard games all day with beer, cider, and food available for purchase.

Pop-up in the Pines

June 14 - Weymouth Center - local makers, small businesses, and food trucks.

North & South Amateur Golf Championships

The Junior Championship (June 21-24), Men’s and Women’s Championship (June 28-July 4), and Senior Championship (August 9-12) bring together the best amateur players for exciting championship competition over Pinehurst’s best holes.

Drums of Liberty

June 27 - Weymouth Center - This family-friendly event features a living history encampment with the 2nd and 6th North Carolina Regiments, performances by the Guilford Courthouse Fife and Drum Corps, Boyd House tours, lectures, children’s activities, and more.

Peach Pathways

July 18-22 - Glass peaches will be hidden among the beautiful pathways throughout the Sandhills and it’s your job to find them!

Pinehurst Live After 5

August 14 - The Village Arboretum - bring a picnic and enjoyo a night of great food, dancing, beer and wine!

15

Fourth of July Events Freedom Fest

July 3- Pinehurst Resort - kids amusements, live music, food available for purchase and a fireworks show sponsored by the Village of Pinehurst.

Celebrating Independence: Concert & Fireworks

July 3 - Pinehurst Track - kids activities, fireworks, and The Soul Psychedelique Orchestra!

Celebrating Independence:

July 4 - Parade Downtown Pinehurst

Fun Family Fourth of July July 4, Aberdeen Lake Park Recreation Station

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