Sampson County lifts most evacuations after tanker fire; three roads remain under notice

That update also corrects our earlier account. At approximately 10:46 a.m. EST on November 1, HeyDay News reported the original broad instruction to leave the affected area. The county’s replacement guidance had taken effect at 10:19:46 a.m.—before our broadcast aired. Our broadcast was out of date. The three-road exception, not the earlier blanket instruction, is the latest documented evacuation guidance.⁠1

The distinction matters in both directions. Residents outside the named exceptions should not be told that the original evacuation still applies to everyone. Residents on the three listed roads should not read “most evacuations canceled” as an all-clear for their homes. No newer official instruction has been independently verified.

Sampson County Emergency Services issued the revised notice through the National Weather Service. It names Perry Drive, Virginia Drive and Kilby Drive without address ranges or block-by-block boundaries. That gives residents a more specific instruction than the original perimeter, but it does not resolve precisely where restrictions begin and end along each road.⁠1

The same update offered temporary shelter at Taylors Bridge Fire Department, at 6825 Taylors Bridge Highway in Clinton. That establishes where affected people were offered shelter at the time of the notice; it is not fresh confirmation that the building remains available or has space. No verified count of evacuees or shelter occupants is available.⁠1⁠28

The alert lists an expiration of 2:19:46 p.m. EST on November 1. That replaces the earlier warning’s listed 1:05:37 p.m. expiration as the relevant validity window for this update. But an expiration time is not an instruction to go home. It does not establish that the remaining evacuation ended, that the highway reopened or that the shelter closed. Those are separate operational decisions, not conclusions residents can safely draw from a clock time.⁠1⁠12

The emergency began with a tanker truck fire near US Highway 421 and Bestwood Lane, near Clinton in Sampson County, North Carolina. Sampson County Emergency Services declared a hazardous-materials emergency. WRAL reported that Sheriff Jimmy Thornton said deputies were evacuating homes within a half-mile radius as a safety precaution.⁠2

The initial county warning took effect at 9:05:37 a.m. EST on November 1. That is the warning’s effective time, not a verified time when the truck caught fire. It directed people in the affected area to evacuate immediately, move away, follow law enforcement and emergency personnel’s directions, and avoid US 421 near Bestwood Lane until further notice.⁠12

The half-mile figure described a radius around the incident—not a half-mile stretch of highway, a count of homes or a measured chemical-exposure zone. WRAL also described heavy, billowing smoke traveling for miles. Its visible reach did not establish how far any hazardous exposure extended. Neither the smoke nor the hazardous-materials declaration identifies the tanker’s cargo.⁠2

That cargo remains unverified. The available reporting also does not establish whether hazardous material was released or whether anyone was exposed. WRAL reported no injuries in its earlier account, but a definitive injury or exposure count has not been established. “No injuries reported” should not be converted into a confirmed count of zero.⁠2

The residential evacuation change does not settle the traffic question. The earlier warning told drivers to avoid US 421 near Bestwood Lane until further notice. No confirmed highway reopening, emergency closure endpoints, official detour or reopening time is available. Canceling an evacuation for nearby homes does not, by itself, make the highway passable.⁠12

Nor does the partial cancellation establish that the fire is extinguished or every remaining hazard has been removed. The update changes the evacuation’s scope; it does not supply a complete account of the firefighting operation or the tanker’s condition.⁠1

The practical change is substantial, but limited: the broad evacuation has been reduced to three named roads. For the households still displaced there, the consequential missing information is a clear instruction that they may go home. The latest documented update does not give it.⁠1