A blaze that started when a piece of timbering equipment caught fire has burned about 1,000 acres in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and is wiping out parts of a project to restore Atlantic white cedar trees.

Refuge manager Chris Lowie says the fire broke out Monday when a contractor's machine caught fire.

Under threat is the Atlantic white cedar restoration project, an effort to remove trees felled by Hurricane Isabel, open the forest floor to light and rain, and enable seeds from surviving cedars to take root.

U.S. Forestry Department spokesman John Calabrese says that a flyover of the area will help officials determine how much of the restoration project has been damaged.