A fire Wednesday damaged an important protective log groin at Washaway Beach at North Cove, a component of the region’s beach erosion prevention efforts.

The South Beach Regional Fire Authority was called to a grass fire shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday and found a 100-yard by 50-yard grass fire moving southeast toward the Shoalwater Bay reservation. According to the fire authority, crews were able to contain the fire to about an acre.

While no structures were involved and no injuries reported, the fire destroyed wood that was being used as an erosion control barrier, part of the area’s ongoing battle against shoreline erosion.

According to a Facebook post from Wash Away No More, which chronicles the major steps North Cove has taken to stem the house- and road-consuming erosion, the blaze “destroyed irreplaceable wood for our next round of beach defense. These logs were essential for extending our protective log groin.”

A “groin” is defined by coastal engineers as a long, narrow structure built out into the water from a beach to prevent beach erosion or trap and accumulate sand that would otherwise drift along the beach face. It’s part of the North Cove erosion prevention measures that include dynamic revetment rock installations designed to absorb the impact of waves on the shoreline.

The fire authority turned the investigation of the fire over to the state Department of Natural Resources, the jurisdiction of authority for the area.

South Beach Regional Fire Authority left some resources on scene in a unified effort to completely extinguish this stubborn fire. As the Wash Away No More post said, “Much of the beneficial wood on the beach is buried in the sand. During our dry season, this gets ignited and can burn for a very long time, and destroy our winter defenses.”