Wildfires break out in the Carolinas, prompting evacuations

A fire near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, doubled in size overnight as more than 170 fires burned in the Carolinas on Sunday, prompting evacuations near the coast and in the mountains.

The largest fire threatened Carolina Forest, a community just west of Myrtle Beach in Horry County. The wildfire stretched across 1,200 acres and was zero percent contained as of Sunday morning, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.

Dramatic video from Sunday morning showed firefighters battling flames as the fire neared houses. No injuries have been reported as of Sunday morning and no buildings have been lost in the fire, according to Horry County officials.

Public safety workers knocked on doors and blasted messages through public announcement systems overnight as evacuation orders expanded. Emergency services warned drivers to be aware of low visibility because of the smoke.

About 50 people were taking shelter at a county recreation center, Mikayla Moskov, a spokesperson for Horry County, said in an email. She said two planes and two helicopters were dropping water on the fire Sunday morning.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Sunday and said that a statewide burn ban would remain in effect indefinitely. The state fire marshal said more than 175 wildfires in the state were burning a total of 4,200 acres, according to the governor’s office.

In North Carolina, a brush fire in the mountains was threatening Tryon and Saluda, small communities in the Blue Ridge Mountains about 40 miles south of Asheville.

The fire had burned between 400 and 500 acres and was zero percent contained as of Sunday afternoon, according to Polk County Emergency Management.

Evacuations were ordered Saturday and remained in place Sunday in Tryon, which has a population of about 1,500. Saluda has fewer than 1,000 residents.

The fire was caused by a downed power line and quickly spread up a mountain, threatening several buildings, according to Saluda Fire and Rescue.

The fires ignited while a large portion of the southeastern United States was under a red-flag warning, an alert from the National Weather Service indicating a high risk of fires. Most of those warnings expired late Saturday night.

The Georgia Forestry Commission said on social media that it had responded to 137 wildfires Saturday that had burned 2,390 acres. Conditions were “slightly better” Sunday, the agency said, and it cautioned residents against doing anything that could spark a fire.

Gusty winds, dry air and afternoon high temperatures in the low 70s helped fuel the rapid spread of the fires. Another factor: South Carolina had unusually low rainfall in February, and the vegetation is dry.

For instance, Myrtle Beach has recorded 2.30 inches of rain since Jan. 1, compared with 6.30 inches of rain that is considered normal for this time of year. North Carolina was a bit wetter last month, though it also received below-average rainfall.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.