Wildfires are leading to emergency evacuations in both South and North Carolina.
The Table Rock and Persimmon Ridge fires have burned more than 6,000 acres so far in South Carolina alone. The South Carolina Forestry Commission says that damage from Hurricane Helene is creating the perfect storm.
According to Doug Wood, the South Carolina Forestry Commission Director of Communications, “The downed timber from Hurricane Helene didn’t contribute to the ignition of the fires but it is absolutely impacting firefighters’ access to the fire and of course, all the downed dry timber from the lack of significant rain contributed to the kind of tinder box that we’re seeing. The extreme fire behavior we’re seeing. There is just so much more fuel on the ground. So yeah, Hurricane Helene oddly enough right! A big rain event is very much linked with these fires in combination with the weather conditions we’re seeing, of course.”
The high wind and low humidity are fanning the flames. Wood says that the statewide burn ban is impacting both forestry and ag landowners.
“The fires are impacting forestry and forestry landowners and farmers because even before the, you know, ignition of these two fires, we’re in prime prescribed burning season and, you know, it’s not just forestry people who do prescribed burning. Farmers have to burn off their fields, you know, this is really impacting a lot of folks, and it’s not just the fires, we have a state burn ban in effect because of the dangerous weather conditions. State burn ban of course, means that we can’t do outdoor burning. So, it’s really affecting a lot of people who may not even be able to see the flames.”
Wood says that it will be critical for farmers to heed the burn bans.
