After a rash of wildfires broke out over the weekend, scorching thousands of acres in South and North Carolina, firefighters on Monday reported making significant progress in extinguishing the blazes that prompted mass evacuations and threatened numerous homes, officials said.
At one point on Saturday and into Sunday, 175 wildfires erupted in South and North Carolina, fueled by high winds and extremely dry conditions, officials said. The fires prompted South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency on Sunday and issue a statewide burning ban.
On Monday, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said firefighters had either extinguished or contained most of the fires.
The largest fire to break out over the weekend was in the Carolina Forest in Horry County. As of Monday, the fire had burned 1,600 acres and threatened the communities of Walkers Woods and Avalon, while spreading to the edge of Myrtle Beach, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
(CAROLINA) — The Carolina Forest fire, which erupted Saturday amid wind gusts of 40 mph, was 30% contained on Monday, the commission said.
More than 400 firefighters — aided by firefighting aircraft, including two South Carolina National Guard helicopter crews making water drops — prevented the fire from spreading to homes in the area, officials said. While some homes were damaged, none have been destroyed, officials said.
No injuries were reported from any of the blazes.
Barbara and Vince Giunta of Myrtle Beach, whose home abuts the Carolina Forest, said the fire spread to near their property line on Saturday.
“Everything was on fire. It was bad. Very, very bad,” Barbara Giunta told ABC News.
Vince Giunta said at one point on Saturday he looked out his kitchen window “and you could see the flames as high as the trees.”
The cause of the Carolina Forest fire remained under investigation.
The second biggest South Carolina wildfire ignited Saturday in Georgetown County, about 35 miles south of Myrtle Beach, burned roughly 800 acres and caused evacuations in the town of Prince George. The South Carolina Forestry Commission said Monday that the fire had been contained.
In North Carolina, fire crews continued to battle a blaze near the town of Tryon, close to the South Carolina border, according to the Saluda Fire and Rescue Department. On Monday, the fire was 30% contained after burning 481 acres, officials said.
Gusty winds are expected to the Carolinas on Tuesday with gusts ranging from 15 to 25 mph. A storm system is heading to the East Coast and is expected to bring much-needed rain to the Carolinas on Wednesday, but could also produce damaging winds and tornadoes.
The National Weather Service said Monday that elevated fire danger conditions persist in the Carolinas and much of the South with extremely dry conditions and with minimum relative humidity of 15% to 25% on Monday afternoon.
“While winds are expected to be light and temperatures still on the cool side of normal, dry vegetation due to lack of recent rainfall combined with the dry air will once again result in increased wildfire danger in northeast Georgia, Upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina,” the NWS said.
Most of South Carolina is abnormally dry or under moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. About 1.2 million residents of the state live in areas experiencing drought, according to the Drought Monitor.
South Carolina only received about 1.87 inches of rain in January, which is below normal, officials said.
According to the Drought Monitor, about 46% of North Carolina is experiencing abnormally dry conditions and 39% of the state is under moderate drought conditions. North Carolina received about 1.62 inches of rain in January, the seventh-driest January on record, according to the Drought Monitor.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a statement Monday that U.S. Forest Service firefighters helped battle the Carolina fires over the weekend.
“The brave men and women of the U.S. Forest Service began responding immediately to the fires in the Carolinas,” said Rollins, whose agency includes the U.S. Forest Service. “We will ensure they have the resources, personnel and support they need to swiftly put out the fires.”
U.S. Forest Service officials said in a statement that the dry conditions and downed timber from past storms have “elevated wildfire risk” in the Carolinas.
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