Wildfires in North Carolina and South Carolina, where evacuation orders were in effect, were being fueled by dry conditions, wind and trees downed by Hurricane Helene.
Mandatory evacuations were in effect for 146 properties in rural Polk county on Tuesday, about 80 miles (129km) west of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Three fires there have burned at least 9.6 sq miles (25 sq km) in that county and in neighboring Henderson county as of Tuesday, and the two larger fires are uncontained, according to the forest service. Officials released maps Tuesday that show evacuation zones in the two counties.
“I’m concerned about the wildfires in Polk county, where people are already struggling due to Mother Nature,” North Carolina’s governor, Josh Stein, said in a social media post.
Stein urged residents to monitor emergency alerts and follow evacuation orders “if you need to leave your homes”.
Many people in the area are still getting over the hurricane that hit in September, according to North Carolina Forest Service spokesperson Bo Dossett.
“The downed trees from Hurricane Helene are contributing to the difficulties that our firefighters are facing trying to contain this fire and so that has just been kind of one ongoing crisis from September all through into the spring for a lot of these residents,” Dossett told the Associated Press.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for parts of the South Carolina upstate, western North Carolina and north-east Georgia through Tuesday night, as conditions were expected to be favorable for the rapid spread of wildfire with lingering dry air and winds picking up to 10 to 20 mph (16 to 32 kph) and gusting 25 to 35 mph (40 to 56 kph).
The Black Cove fire is one of the larger blazes. Officials said a downed power line sparked that fire, but the causes of the other two fires are under investigation.
Two fires were burning in the mountains of South Carolina. The fires in Table Rock State Park and nearby Persimmon Ridge have burned a combined 2.3 sq miles (5.9 sq km), the South Carolina Forestry Commission said. Officials said both fires were ignited by human activity and neither were contained as of Monday night.
Dry weather and millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year are creating a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, according to North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller. Scheller predicted this busy fire season if the region saw dry weather after the hurricane.
“Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,” Scheller said. “Then these flash droughts allow that fuel to dry out very fast.”
Despite recent rain, most of the Carolinas are abnormally dry or experiencing a moderate drought, according to federal monitors.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
