Woods fire has burned 850 acres through South MS forest. Here’s the latest on containment

A fire burning hundreds of acres in Harrison County this week was mostly contained by Thursday evening and had damaged no homes, Mississippi fire authorities said.

The fire, called Carson Six, had burned 850 acres and was 90 percent contained as of 5 p.m. Thursday, according to the Mississippi Interagency Coordination Center , which works with U.S. Forest Service and other agencies to track wildfires.

The fire is in the DeSoto National Forest north of Interstate 10 near Carson Road and White Star Road . It started on Wednesday and quickly spread .

Authorities said flames threatened 10 structures on Wednesday. Firefighters protected those homes by Thursday and no damage was reported, Kevin Craft, an outreach officer at the Mississippi Forestry Service said.

The flames sent clouds of black smoke from the woods that could linger through Friday.

“There’s going to be major smoke in that area,” Craft said Thursday morning. “This is not a controlled burn.”

Firefighters protected structures by lighting flames in front of the woods fire to control it and stop it from spreading, Craft said. The process is called backburning. Firefighters also created fire lines, or breaks in vegetation that acts as a barrier to flames.

Craft said no roads are closed in the area but asked residents to avoid the area of Carson Road, where fire crews are based. Authorities said no evacuations had been ordered.

It is unclear what started the fire but officials will investigate it, Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said.

The Mississippi Coast was under a red flag warning on Wednesday when the flames began. The National Weather Service in Slidell warned low humidity and gusty winds had increased the risk of fires, and the agency asked residents to avoid burning. The warning expired Wednesday evening.

The U.S. Forest Service and Mississippi Forestry Commission are fighting the fire. Harrison County Fire Rescue crews are supplying them with water, Sullivan said. Some crews from Gulfport Fire also assisted on Wednesday.