myrtle beach fires

Myrtle Beach is currently experiencing some of the worst fires that we've seen in a while on the East Coast; the damage caused by the quickly spreading flames has become so bad that authorities are discussing the possibility of the fire "moving to North Myrtle Beach."

Myrtle Beach Fires destroy dozens of homes. Wildfires have destroyed Myrtle Beach homes causing evacuations in the thousands.A cause of the fire, which started a day earlier in a wooded area west of the beach, had not been determined.

A wildfire along the coast of South Carolina has ripped through Myrtle Beach. Dozens of homes in Myrtle Beach are destroyed with no reported injuries. Hardest hit includes the Barefoot Landing development. Fires were already blazing shortly after midnight.

According to the Charlotte Observer, 40 homes have already burnt down, between 8,000 and 9,000 acres in Horry County have been torched and 2,500 residents (or visitors) have been forced into emergency shelters.

Says local WISHTV:

Adding to the problem were heavily vegetated patches called Carolina Bays that caught fire and fueled the blaze. Tropical downpours are often needed to extinguish such fires, said state Forestry Commission spokesman Scott Hawkins.”Once you get a fire in a bay, it’s very, very hard to put out,” he said.

Police banged on doors to awaken residents as strong winds pushed the blaze through a wooded swath toward the Barefoot Landing development, a sprawling complex of houses, condominiums and golf courses separated from the main route through Myrtle Beach by the Intracoastal Waterway.

Officials hoped the waterway would act as a natural firebreak to protect more populated areas closer to the beach. State fire officials said as many as 40 homes had been damaged or destroyed. North Myrtle Beach spokeswoman Nicole Aiello said only that 40 homes were damaged and the extent of that would not be known until later in the day.

About 2,500 people in a four-mile stretch on the western side of the waterway were told to leave their homes overnight, Aiello said. Shelters were set up at North Myrtle Beach City Hall and the House of Blues, where about 50 people watched a television over the bar looking for news updates. Outside, a white haze settled and the acrid smell of smoke was pervasive.

For now, our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone down in the Myrtle Beach area that might be in danger; we'll have more as this story develops.

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