Emergency Management News Conference on SC Wildfire

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: New information on Myrtle Beach area... (Added: April 23, 2009)

Forty homes have been destroyed, another 100 damaged and 15,000 acres have been burned by a fast-moving wildfire that started north of Conway Wednesday afternoon and burned into North Myrtle Beach Thu (more)

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Gov. Mark Sanford declared a state of emergency because of the wildfire. Sanford will travel to Horry County tomorrow near the site of the fires to meet with state and local responders.

A statewide burning ban is also in place for South Carolina. The fine for breaking the ban is $100.

2.500 residents living in the area between SC 22 and the Main Street Connector at SC 31 are being evacuated after a wildfire spread into North Myrtle Beach Thursday morning.

North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley says 8 fire departments and 95 firefighters are currently working the fire in the city of North Mrytle Beach. She says they are working with insurance companies to get them on site and in touch with residents affected by the fire.

Dept. of Public Safety William Bailey says they have the fire 75% to 85% contained. He says the have hot spots to worry about and they have the resources to deal with them, but they need the weather to coorporate. He says there is a severe safety issue.

Shelters have been set up at North Myrtle Beach City Hall and Barefoot Church. The Red Cross has established shelters at The House of Blues and the North Myrtle Beach Aquatics and Fitness Center, 1100 2nd Ave. South.

Pets are not allowed in the Red Cross shelters, however, arrangements are being made with Horry County Humane Society to bring in a mobile trailer with individual cages to house pets.

As of 7 a.m., a spokesperson for the Red Cross said there were approximately 200 people registered in the shelter at the Aquatics Center and 26 at the House of Blues with dozens more milling around in the parking lot area.

North Myrtle Beach Public Information Officer Nicole Aiello said between 30-50 homes burned in the Barefoot Resort area off of US 17. Most of the damage occurred in the Longwood and Dye Club areas of the resort, Aiello said.
So far, no injuries were reported.

The area currently on fire is estimated to be between 7,000-8,000 acres, officials said.

As an added challenge to firefighters, the blaze has spread into several Carolina Bays.

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.

National Guard air drops are expected to take place throughout the morning as firefighters try to get the upper hand on the blaze.
Overnight, residents living on Water Tower Road were evacuated as the fire approached, Horry County Fire and Rescue spokesman Todd Cartner said.

At times the fire has forced several major roads to be closed – including SC 22 and SC 31 in the North Myrtle Beach areas and SC 90, which is close to where the fire started.

Shortly before 7:30 Thursday morning, authorities reopened Highway 90 from Lee’s Landing and Old Reaves Road.
Horry County schools not in the North Myrtle Beach area will operate on a regular schedule Thursday, although some buses may be delayed due to the road closures.

The Horry County Emergency Operations Center opened at 8 a.m.

Citizens can call Horry County Emergency Management at 915-5150 for updated information.

The fire is burning in one of the state’s most important tourist areas. One area attraction just escaped damage in the fire.
Cartner said Wednesday night the fire had spread to the Grande Dunes Golf Club.

Officials at the club said the fire jumped SC 31 and got to the protective berm that separates the highway from the golf course.
Firefighters were able to stop the fire there and prevent it from reaching the first hole. The club will be open for business on Thursday morning.

Hawkins says crews continue to struggle to contain the fire and that high winds and low humidity will hamper firefighters through Thursday.

The Red Cross opened a shelter Wednesday afternoon at Tilly Swamp Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 4619 Hwy 90, Conway in the area where the fire originally broke out.

The shelter was closed Thursday morning after authorities gave evacuees in the area the all clear.

Stay with scnow.com and News13 for more on this developing story as new information becomes available.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For additional coverage of the Horry County fires from our sister station WBTW-TV, click here

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