Upstate Wildfires Burn 2 ,000 Acres, Still Burning

By: Jessica Holdman/S.C. Daily Gazette

A pair of wildfires that flared up over the weekend in South Carolina’s Upstate have burned more than 2,000 acres combined.

Emergency officials are reporting no injuries and no home damage so far from the Table Rock Fire in Pickens County and Persimmon Ridge Fire in Greenville County, according to state Forestry Commission spokeswoman Michelle Johnson.

Neither fire is contained. A statewide burning ban remains in place until further notice.

Officials asked residents of about 100 homes just east of Table Rock State Park in Pickens County to voluntarily evacuate as the blaze, started by teenage hikers in the park, spread to about 1,300 acres over the past three days.

High winds, dry conditions and downed trees from Hurricane Helene fueled the fire’s spread, prompting Gov. Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency Saturday.

And on Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved South Carolina for federal aid. This allows the state to seek reimbursement for 75% of costs associated with battling the fires, including personnel costs and equipment, such as air tankers and bulldozers.

Pickens County sheriff’s deputies first spotted the Table Rock Fire at about 5:45 p.m. Friday — 15 minutes before the statewide burning ban went into effect. The deputies were out searching for hiker Stephanie Womacks, who went missing from her campsite March 3.

“Unfortunately, their search was cut short due to the negligent act of some hikers that led to the forest fire,” Sheriff Blankenship said in a video posted to Facebook. “Our deputies actually barely escaped the fire.”

The teens suspected of starting the fire have been identified and criminal charges are being considered.

Some eight miles to the northeast, a second fire started Saturday in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area between Caesars Head State Park and Jones Gap State Park, according to the state Forestry Commission.

That wildfire also was manmade.

Cliff Ridge, a gated subdivision near Caesars Head, and others in the area around Oil Camp Creek are most at risk. But officials have not called for evacuations at this time.

Planes and helicopters have been collecting water from Lake Jocassee and dumping it on the two fires. Responders added more aircraft to the fleet Monday, including a Chinook helicopter and two Black Hawk helicopters from the S.C. National Guard, a State Law Enforcement Division helicopter and two Forestry Commission air tankers.

To protect homes near Table Rock, firefighters built a 150-acre backburn — an intentional fire set to burn up any potential fuel and create a barrier. Officials set up a shelter at Holly Springs Community Center for evacuating residents.

The current fires stir memories of an earlier blaze.

The Pinnacle Mountain Fire — the largest mountain fire in state history at 10,000 acres — burned the same area of Pickens County in 2016 after a campfire set by some Boy Scouts camping in Table Rock State Park got out of control.

The fires also come on the heels of more than 175 wildfires sparked in Horry, Spartanburg, Oconee, Union and Pickens counties the first weekend of March, impacting more than 4,200 acres total, according to the State Fire Marshal.

The biggest, at more than 2,000 acres, was in the Myrtle Beach area. The Carolina Forest Fire, which melted fences and siding on homes in fast-growing Horry County, is now about 80% contained.

Wildfire season in South Carolina spans from late winter to early spring. In a typical year, the state responds to more than 5,000 wildfires, which burn nearly 30,000 acres — an area five times the size of Charleston’s peninsula, according to the S.C. Emergency Management Division.

A pair of wildfires that flared up over the weekend in South Carolina’s Upstate have burned more than 2,000 acres combined.

Emergency officials are reporting no injuries and no home damage so far from the Table Rock Fire in Pickens County and Persimmon Ridge Fire in Greenville County, according to state Forestry Commission spokeswoman Michelle Johnson.

Neither fire is contained. A statewide burning ban remains in place until further notice.

Officials asked residents of about 100 homes just east of Table Rock State Park in Pickens County to voluntarily evacuate as the blaze, started by teenage hikers in the park, spread to about 1,300 acres over the past three days.

High winds, dry conditions and downed trees from Hurricane Helene fueled the fire’s spread, prompting Gov. Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency Saturday.

And on Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved South Carolina for federal aid. This allows the state to seek reimbursement for 75% of costs associated with battling the fires, including personnel costs and equipment, such as air tankers and bulldozers.

Pickens County sheriff’s deputies first spotted the Table Rock Fire at about 5:45 p.m. Friday — 15 minutes before the statewide burning ban went into effect. The deputies were out searching for hiker Stephanie Womacks, who went missing from her campsite March 3.

“Unfortunately, their search was cut short due to the negligent act of some hikers that led to the forest fire,” Sheriff Blankenship said in a video posted to Facebook. “Our deputies actually barely escaped the fire.”

The teens suspected of starting the fire have been identified and criminal charges are being considered.

Some eight miles to the northeast, a second fire started Saturday in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area between Caesars Head State Park and Jones Gap State Park, according to the state Forestry Commission.

That wildfire also was manmade.

Cliff Ridge, a gated subdivision near Caesars Head, and others in the area around Oil Camp Creek are most at risk. But officials have not called for evacuations at this time.

Planes and helicopters have been collecting water from Lake Jocassee and dumping it on the two fires. Responders added more aircraft to the fleet Monday, including a Chinook helicopter and two Black Hawk helicopters from the S.C. National Guard, a State Law Enforcement Division helicopter and two Forestry Commission air tankers.

To protect homes near Table Rock, firefighters built a 150-acre backburn — an intentional fire set to burn up any potential fuel and create a barrier. Officials set up a shelter at Holly Springs Community Center for evacuating residents.

The current fires stir memories of an earlier blaze.

The Pinnacle Mountain Fire — the largest mountain fire in state history at 10,000 acres — burned the same area of Pickens County in 2016 after a campfire set by some Boy Scouts camping in Table Rock State Park got out of control.

The fires also come on the heels of more than 175 wildfires sparked in Horry, Spartanburg, Oconee, Union and Pickens counties the first weekend of March, impacting more than 4,200 acres total, according to the State Fire Marshal.

The biggest, at more than 2,000 acres, was in the Myrtle Beach area. The Carolina Forest Fire, which melted fences and siding on homes in fast-growing Horry County, is now about 80% contained.

Wildfire season in South Carolina spans from late winter to early spring. In a typical year, the state responds to more than 5,000 wildfires, which burn nearly 30,000 acres — an area five times the size of Charleston’s peninsula, according to the S.C. Emergency Management Division.

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