Wildfires prompted a mandatory evacuation in a North Carolina county on Sunday, an area still in recovery from Hurricane Helene. In South Carolina, the governor declared an emergency in response to a significant wildfire. Concurrently, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service was actively managing a blaze in the Wharton State Forest, located hundreds of miles to the north.
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety initiated a mandatory evacuation at 8:20 p.m. on Saturday for certain parts of Polk County, situated approximately 80 miles west of Charlotte. The agency warned in a social media post that visibility would be reduced and evacuation routes could become blocked, posing a risk of entrapment, injury, or fatality for those who do not evacuate immediately. A shelter was set up in Columbus, North Carolina, to support evacuees.
Polk County was contending with three active fires. One of these covered 1.9 square miles, while another extended over 2.8 square miles, with neither under control by Sunday afternoon. County spokesperson Kellie Cannon confirmed the destruction of one home by the larger fire. A third fire, which had burned approximately 199 acres, reached 50% containment but had already destroyed three homes. The previous evacuation order for this fire had been lifted, according to Cannon. Additional mandatory evacuations were issued for parts of Polk County on Sunday evening, as reported by North Carolina Emergency Management on social media.
Furthermore, the North Carolina Forest Service’s online wildfire public viewer indicated active fires in Burke County and Stokes County, bordering Virginia.
In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Saturday as firefighters in Pickens County battled the Table Rock Fire in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This declaration enabled a rapid mobilization of resources to support firefighting efforts, in line with a statewide outdoor burning ban declared by the South Carolina Forestry Commission on Friday. A social media post by the commission indicated that local fire authorities called for voluntary evacuations for some residents near Table Rock Mountain. The fire, attributed to human causes, expanded to more than 300 acres with no containment, as reported on Sunday. New spot fires emerged, complicated by the challenging terrain, which hindered the deployment of heavy firefighting equipment. Residual timber from Hurricane Helene worsened the situation. Voluntary evacuations affecting approximately 100 homes remained active as of Sunday afternoon.
The western region of North Carolina had previously sustained substantial damage from Hurricane Helene in September, impacting 5,000 miles of state-maintained roads and causing damage to 7,000 private roads, bridges, and culverts.
Concurrently, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service was addressing a wildfire in the Wharton State Forest, which erupted on Saturday. By early Sunday morning, the fire had consumed about 2.7 square miles and was approximately 50% contained. According to an update from the service on Facebook at 8 a.m., emergency officials evacuated two campgrounds within the park. Although the fire was approaching 18 buildings, the flames were progressing in the opposite direction, and no structures required evacuation. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. This report was initially published on Fortune.com.
