Video: US Firefighters Tackle Devastating Wildfires In Carolinas Amid Dry Air, Gusty Winds

Arun Jain,


South Carolina, US:

Firefighters in the United States’ North and South Carolina have been battling dozens of wildfires over the weekend, prompting authorities to order some residents to evacuate. The blazes were fueled by dry weather, gusty winds, and unusually high temperatures. 

As of Sunday, the largest fire was burning 1,200 acres near the coastal city of Myrtle Beach. Moreover, the US National Weather Service has warned of increased fire danger in the region due to a combination of critically dry fuels and very low relative humidity.

Dramatic videos from South Carolina showed firefighters battling flames as the fire neared houses. So far, no injuries have been reported due to blazes, according to American media reports.

The new blazes come a month after devastating blazes in Los Angeles that are expected to be the costliest in US history, with some expecting losses as high as $35 billion.

South Carolina

In South Carolina, where more than 175 fires burned 6.6 square miles (17 square kilometers), Governor Henry McMaster has declared a state of emergency to support the wildfire response effort after officials declared a statewide burn ban. The governor said the burn ban would remain in effect indefinitely.

Meanwhile, firefighters have made some progress in containing a fire in the Carolina Forest area, west of Myrtle Beach, where residents had been ordered to evacuate several neighborhoods, according to Horry County Fire Rescue. 

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Video from the area showed some people leaving their houses as smoke filled the sky. However, by late Sunday afternoon, the fire department announced that Carolina Forest evacuees could return home.

By Sunday evening, the South Carolina Forestry Commission estimated that the blaze had burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) with 30 percent of it contained. 

“No structures had succumbed to the blaze and no injuries had been reported as of Sunday morning,” officials said.

North Carolina

In North Carolina, the US Forest Service said fire crews were working to contain multiple wildfires burning in four forests across the state.

The largest blaze, about 400 acres (162 hectares), was at Uwharrie National Forest, about 50 miles (80.47 kilometers) east of Charlotte. The Forest Service said Sunday afternoon that it had made progress on the fire, reaching about one-third containment.

The small southwestern town of Tryon in Polk County, North Carolina, urged some residents to evacuate Saturday as a fire spread rapidly there. The evacuations remained in effect on Sunday. A decision on whether to lift them was expected to be made Monday after intentional burns are set to try to stop the fire from spreading.

That fire has burned about 500 acres (202 hectares) as of late on Sunday, with zero percent containment, according to the Polk County Emergency Management/Fire Marshal’s office. 

The North Carolina Forest Service was conducting water drops and back-burning operations on the ground, and area residents should expect a lot of smoke during those operations, officials said.

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Officials have not said what caused any of the fires.
 


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