Additional Evacuations Ordered as Wildfires Expand in U.S. Carolinas
In light of the ongoing wildfires in the U.S., additional evacuation orders have been issued. The situation continues to escalate as the fires expand, prompting authorities to take further action to ensure public safety.
TroibNews 
More individuals have been urged to join the hundreds already evacuated from their homes in the mountains of North Carolina and South Carolina as wildfires continue to spread, with an unpromising forecast for the week ahead characterized by dry and windy conditions.
A half-dozen significant fires are currently active in the Blue Ridge Mountains, transforming the landscape and contributing to smoke dispersal into areas such as Greenville.
The millions of fallen trees resulting from Hurricane Helene in September are both fueling the wildfires and obstructing the logging roads and pathways that firefighters rely on to combat the flames and establish fire breaks.
Firefighters have successfully protected most structures in proximity to the fires, with only one reported injury—a firefighter in North Carolina sustained a leg injury from a falling tree, according to officials. Approximately 40 square kilometers have been scorched.
While rain is anticipated this weekend, it is not expected to be the kind of substantial downpour that could effectively extinguish the fires, as noted by a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in South Carolina.
A positive aspect of the upcoming forecast is the absence of any particularly hazardous days where wind and dry weather could reach catastrophic levels similar to conditions witnessed in Los Angeles in January or in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 2016.
Forestry agencies in both North Carolina and South Carolina are currently strategizing how to rotate teams of firefighters in and out of the mountainous regions for what may become a prolonged battle against the blazes.
South Carolina fire officials initiated their first wave of evacuations on Tuesday night, with two active fires—in Table Rock State Park in Pickens County, which has engulfed 9.3 square kilometers, and another on Persimmon Ridge in Greenville County, which has consumed 4.1 square kilometers.
Authorities reported that approximately 250 homes are situated within the evacuation zone in Pickens County, along with additional properties in neighboring Greenville County.
The fires are located about 13 kilometers apart, and given the strength of the winds, officials made the decision to evacuate the area situated between the two infernos.
Dry conditions on Wednesday resulted in the emergence of several new fires in western North Carolina, prompting a state of emergency declaration across 34 western counties. At least nine fires were confirmed to be active in that region, according to officials.
In Polk County, around two dozen homes and outbuildings have been lost to the flames. Three wildfires have scorched at least 25 square kilometers across Polk County and neighboring Henderson County.
Late Tuesday, a wildfire ignited in far western North Carolina near Bryson City, leading police to evacuate dozens of residents as the flames spread across nearly 2.6 square kilometers.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
A half-dozen significant fires are currently active in the Blue Ridge Mountains, transforming the landscape and contributing to smoke dispersal into areas such as Greenville.
The millions of fallen trees resulting from Hurricane Helene in September are both fueling the wildfires and obstructing the logging roads and pathways that firefighters rely on to combat the flames and establish fire breaks.
Firefighters have successfully protected most structures in proximity to the fires, with only one reported injury—a firefighter in North Carolina sustained a leg injury from a falling tree, according to officials. Approximately 40 square kilometers have been scorched.
While rain is anticipated this weekend, it is not expected to be the kind of substantial downpour that could effectively extinguish the fires, as noted by a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in South Carolina.
A positive aspect of the upcoming forecast is the absence of any particularly hazardous days where wind and dry weather could reach catastrophic levels similar to conditions witnessed in Los Angeles in January or in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 2016.
Forestry agencies in both North Carolina and South Carolina are currently strategizing how to rotate teams of firefighters in and out of the mountainous regions for what may become a prolonged battle against the blazes.
South Carolina fire officials initiated their first wave of evacuations on Tuesday night, with two active fires—in Table Rock State Park in Pickens County, which has engulfed 9.3 square kilometers, and another on Persimmon Ridge in Greenville County, which has consumed 4.1 square kilometers.
Authorities reported that approximately 250 homes are situated within the evacuation zone in Pickens County, along with additional properties in neighboring Greenville County.
The fires are located about 13 kilometers apart, and given the strength of the winds, officials made the decision to evacuate the area situated between the two infernos.
Dry conditions on Wednesday resulted in the emergence of several new fires in western North Carolina, prompting a state of emergency declaration across 34 western counties. At least nine fires were confirmed to be active in that region, according to officials.
In Polk County, around two dozen homes and outbuildings have been lost to the flames. Three wildfires have scorched at least 25 square kilometers across Polk County and neighboring Henderson County.
Late Tuesday, a wildfire ignited in far western North Carolina near Bryson City, leading police to evacuate dozens of residents as the flames spread across nearly 2.6 square kilometers.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
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