Crews Battle Wildfires Across Parts of North and South Carolina

South Carolina’s governor declared a state of emergency this week as dozens of wildfires burned across parts of North and South Carolina, causing evacuations, minor property losses and unhealthy air quality.

State, local and national news sites reported that more than 1,600 acres near Myrtle Beach in northeast South Carolina were on fire Monday, and visibility was poor.

Crews made progress 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, the Associated Press reported. Video showed some people running down the street as smoke filled the sky. But by late Sunday afternoon, the fire department announced that Carolina Forest evacuees could return home.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission estimated Sunday evening that the blaze had burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) with 30 percent of it contained. Few structures had succumbed to the blaze and no injuries had been reported as of Sunday morning, officials said.

In North Carolina, a fire broke out in the mountains in the western part of the state, an area still recovering from Hurricane Helene’s widespread flooding. State officials and insurance interest groups warned in January that downed trees and brush left by the floodwaters were likely to become fuel for wildfires.

The National Weather Service also had said much of the area and much of the Southeast was at high risk of wildfire, due to dry conditions. Those harbingers came true Sunday and Monday south of Asheville, as fires, one likely caused by a downed power line, spread in the area, news outlets reported. The North Carolina fires were partially contained by fire crews Monday.

A larger fire, about 400 acres, was at Uwharrie National Forest, an hour’s drive east of Charlotte. The U.S. Forest Service said the blaze was about 33% contained, the Associated Press reported.

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 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 had burned about 500 acres (202 hectares) as of late 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.

Dozens of fires also scorched parts of Georgia, but conditions had improved slightly by Monday, the Georgia Forestry Commission reported on social media.

Top photo: Crews work to contain a fire in the Carolina Forest area west of the coastal resort city of Myrtle Beach, on Sunday, where residents were ordered to evacuate several neighborhoods. (WMBF-TV via AP)