South Carolina governor declares state of emergency as wildfires erupt in Carolinas, Georgia
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Sunday as wildfires in the Carolinas and Georgia scorched thousands of acres and forced people to flee their homes.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Sunday as wildfires in the Carolinas and Georgia scorched thousands of acres and forced people to flee their homes.
More than 175 fires were burning in South Carolina, the governor's office said earlier Sunday, fueled by unusually dry conditions and gusty winds. Those conditions are expected to fade as a cold front pushes out the dry air mass over the Southeast and brings rain by Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
By early Monday, that number was down to 163, with over 5,400 acres burned, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
Russell Hubright, the South Carolina Forestry Commission Chief, described the flames as “very erratic.”
“You saw that the flames are low and all of a sudden they jumped up right? So wind changes can do that in this kind of a fuel type as we call it, so it can be a little scary,” he told NBC’s Emilie Ikeda in an interview aired on "TODAY" Monday morning.
Rating: 5