Wildfire forces evacuations near NC's Camp Lejeune

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Officials have declared a state of emergency and are ordering evacuations as crews battle a massive wildfire at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune.

Onslow County spokeswoman Lisa Whitman-Grice said officials are concerned not only about the fire but the dense smoke it is creating.

A state forest spokesman says about 20 homes and a mobile home park were evacuated earlier Thursday.

Whitman-Grace says officials have not received any reports of burned structures. Authorities are going door-to-door to evacuate people in a township southwest of Camp Lejeune. About 40,000 Marines and Navy personnel make up the base.

The wildfire that began Saturday has covered about 2,000 acres on the base in southeastern North Carolina near the coast.