Massive Surf City fire guts beach home, damages others on Topsail Island

SURF CITY, N.C. (WNCN) — A massive house fire at the North Carolina coast burned up to three island homes and sent thick black smoke into the sky Saturday afternoon, according to witness reports.

The blaze was reported around 5:30 p.m. in the north end of Surf City, which is located about midway on Topsail Island, with North Topsail Beach to the north and Topsail Beach in the far south.

Several photos and video clips were posted on social media showing the blaze with intense flames and a huge column of smoke. The Pender County Sheriff’s Office confirmed there was an active fire early Saturday evening in Surf City.

One witness, Marc Turner, said intense flames that destroyed one home in the 1700 block of North Shore Drive.

Two adjacent houses were damaged after the fire broke out about a block away from the Trailer Bar and Tortuga’s Nest. The fire quickly destroyed one home — an 11-minute video starts with a roaring fire, and the house is later in ruins as the video ends.

The fire and smoke from the massive blaze were visible for several miles on the clear Saturday. Residents in Camp Lejeune, adjacent to Jacksonville, noted that they saw the smoke.

Turner, who recorded video of the blaze, told CBS 17 that a man and his dog were in the home, escaped and were not injured. The other damaged homes were not occupied at the time, Turner said.

The fire broke out at a Surf City home just inside Onslow County that faces the ocean and would be on the beach except for a small road — North Shore Drive — in front of the house.