Donald Robinson doesn’t want to hear the words “fire” and “Nike Lane” come from his scanner again.  The Catawba fire chief said it was the second forest fire they have had there in less than a week and they aren’t taking any chances with a third.

 Catawba and Bandys Crossroad firefighters spent Wednesday afternoon trudging a 3-foot trench around the location.  If another fire does ignite, the trench is there to keep it from spreading.

Firefighters responded to 6462 Nike Lane at 1:40 p.m. on Wednesday where they found at least one-quarter acre of woods on fire.  On Sunday evening, the same fire departments squelched a fire that burned an acre of land there after a controlled burn turned into a wild fire at 6 p.m., Assistant County Ranger Jeff Icard, with the North Carolina Forestry Service, said.

Robinson said he believes embers from Sunday’s fire ignited the land again on Wednesday.  In addition to the trench, he said crews would thoroughly soak the area and carefully inspect the area again before leaving.

He said he’s not sure who owns the property, but the fires have come within a few hundred feet of a vacant mobile home placed at the end of the road.