SHALLOTTE, N.C. (WWAY) — A wildfire that burned 283 acres near Shallotte was sparked by a lightning strike more than a month before it was discovered, according to the North Carolina Forest Service. Investigators determined the fire was caused by a lightning strike during storms that moved through the area on May 28. The strike ignited what firefighters call a “holdover” fire, which smoldered underground in dry organic soil for weeks before surfacing when weather and fuel conditions became favorable. They are most common in deep layers of dry organic material known as duff. During prolonged dry conditions, those underground fires can slowly spread for days or even weeks before becoming visible.