Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation Sunday in a North Carolina county still recovering from Hurricane Helene, and South Carolina's governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire in that state.
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety announced a mandatory evacuation starting at 8:20 p.m. Saturday for parts of Polk County in western North Carolina about 80 miles west of Charlotte.
“Visibility in area will be reduced and roads/evacuation routes can become blocked; if you do not leave now, you could be trapped, injured, or killed,” the agency said in a social media post.
A shelter had been established in Columbus, North Carolina.
There were three active fires in Polk County, with one spanning 1.9 square miles and another spread over 2.8 square miles with no containment by Sunday afternoon. County spokesperson Kellie Cannon said one home was lost to the larger of the two fires.
A third fire that had burned about 199 acres with 50% containment had destroyed three homes. And earlier evacuation order associated with that fire had been lifted, Cannon said.
The North Carolina Forest Service's online wildfire public viewer indicated active fires Sunday in Burke County and in Stokes County on the northern border with Virginia.
In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Saturday as emergency crews in Pickens County fought the Table Rock Fire in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“The State of Emergency allows us to mobilize resources quickly and ensure our firefighters have the support they need,” McMaster said in a statement that reinforced a statewide outdoor burning ban issued Friday by the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
Local fire officials called for voluntary evacuations Saturday of some residents near Table Rock Mountain, the forestry commission said in a social media post.
That human-caused fire grew to more than 300 acres with no containment, the commission said Sunday. Spot fires ignited fresh flames outside of the original fire area and the steep terrain was making it hard for heavier equipment used to contain fires to reach the area, officials said. Downed timber from Hurricane Helene was exacerbating the situation. Voluntary evacuations of approximately 100 residences remained in effect Sunday afternoon.
North Carolina's western region already had been hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September. The hurricane damaged or impacted 5,000 miles of state-maintained roads and damaged 7,000 private roads, bridges and culverts in North Carolina.
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