Wildfires across the Carolinas prompt evacuations as the region faces more dry conditions Sunday – CNN

Even as conditions improved, heavy smoke persisted Monday across the Carolinas as firefighters battle wildfires scorching parts of the region.

“There is heavy, low-hanging smoke blanketed across the area this morning,” South Carolina’s Horry County Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post. “This will limit some visibility for motorists and residents.”

The Carolina Forest Fire, about five miles north of Myrtle Beach, a popular tourist area, is estimated to be 1,600 acres and 30% contained, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.

Horry County Fire Rescue personnel were conducting reconnaissance Monday at the scene of the fire and from above with drones.

Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were conducting fire suppression missions and a CH-47 Chinook has also been mobilized, according to the South Carolina National Guard.

The forestry commission continued to assist the local crews on the ground and with water support from airplanes, the fire and rescue department said.

“We realize these operations are affecting the normal flow of life in Horry County, and we appreciate the public’s understanding and trust in our teams to make sure everyone stays safe,” they said.

The Carolina Forest Fire was among 163 wildfires burning 5,483 acres across the state, officials said Monday.

Lower wind speeds and cooler temperatures are expected Monday but an elevated fire risk continues.

“Another very dry day…” the National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg said. “While winds are expected to be light and temperatures still on the cool side of normal, dry vegetation combined with the dry air will once again result in increased wildfire danger.”

The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services issued an air quality alert for fine particulates for Horry County until further notice, blaming high pressure in the region Monday and Tuesday for “minimizing smoke dispersion from numerous wildfires in the area.”

Horry County Fire Rescue advised motorists to stay off the roads through Tuesday morning due to the potential for continued heavy smoke, but said the haze is expected to dissipate moving into midday.

A statewide burn ban issued Saturday remains in effect as dozens of wildfires flared across the state – many of which have since been contained. Residents who had evacuated were allowed to reenter the neighborhood Sunday evening, according to the forestry commission.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Sunday to support wildfire efforts across the state.

The fire threat continues for the region, including near Wilmington, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina, the National Weather Service warned.

A warmer, drier climate has contributed to more intense and destructive wildfires, according to the US Geological Survey.

Typically, South Carolina faces around 5,000 wildfires a year, burning almost 30,000 acres, according to the state Emergency Management Division. Similarly, North Carolina saw 4,588 wildfires in 2024, which burned over 15,000 acres.

In western North Carolina, near the towns of Tryon and Saluda, a brush fire caused by a power line that fell Saturday along US Highway 176 spread quickly up a nearby mountain and threatened several structures, Saluda Fire and Rescue said in a post that night.

The fire had burned more than 481 acres and was 30% contained as of Monday morning, according to Polk County Emergency Management. Several fire departments responded to the blaze, Polk County officials said.

Some residents near the highway were ordered to evacuate Saturday afternoon by Tryon authorities.

“Residents can expect a heavy fire department presence in the Bear Creek, Hanging Rock, Rhododendron Dr., Oceanview Dr., and Meadow Lark Dr. areas as crews work to protect homes and reduce fire fuels,” Saluda Fire and Rescue said.

A passenger aboard a flight into Myrtle Beach on Saturday night captured video of a mass of smoke and fire billowing up into the sky from the plane window.

“It was quite terrifying to fly home to,” the passenger, Becca Ann, told CNN.

Tryon and Saluda are just north of the North Carolina-South Carolina border, around 25 miles southeast of Asheville, North Carolina.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday she had been in touch with the governors of North and South Carolina.

“DHS stands ready to help should local emergency management directors request it,” Noem said.

In South Carolina, the past 30 years have been warmer than any other consecutive 30-year period, and summer precipitation has decreased, according to the Strategic Statewide Resilience and Risk Reduction Plan completed in 2023 from the South Carolina Office of Resilience.

While extreme rainfall In North Carolina has increased in the recent past, rising temperatures have increased the harshness of naturally occurring droughts, according to the state’s Climate Science Report.

The severity of recent large wildfires – such as fires that ravaged Los Angeles in January – was due to environmental factors related to climate change, studies conducted by analyzing data mostly from major fires in the western United States have concluded.

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While fires would likely have occurred if there was no climate pollution, they would have been “smaller and less intense,” research from scientists at the University of California-Los Angeles said.

Fire crews were sent Saturday night to contain a large wooded fire near Myrtle Beach, officials said, while residents in several homes in the nearby Carolina Forest area were ordered to evacuate.

Despite weaker winds and cooler temperatures Sunday, dry air combined with dry vegetation due to lack of recent rainfall are keeping the wildfire danger high across the Carolinas and northeast Georgia.

Lighter winds will continue through Tuesday as temperatures warm to close to 60 degrees and more humid air returns to the region.

CNN’s Sara Smart and Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.
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Source: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/02/us/carolinas-wildfire-evacuations-dry-conditions-hnk/index.html