Carolina fire maps show where wildfires burn in North and South Carolina

At least 17 wildfires were actively burning Monday in North and South Carolina, where blazes that erupted over the weekend forced evacuations and a state of emergency. The largest of them, in the Carolina Forest area near Myrtle Beach, spread over 1,600 acres in just a couple of days and remained largely uncontained as of officials’ latest updates. 

Efforts were underway to contain the fires across both Carolinas. Here are maps illustrating the current situation.

Maps of Carolina fires

Officials listed more than 200 wildfires in North Carolina early Monday, covering almost 2,100 acres of land, according to the North Carolina Forest Service. That figure accounted for both reported fires and confirmed ones, and the latter group included active blazes along with others considered contained or controlled. A contained wildfire is one that still burns but is no longer spreading, while a controlled fire has been extinguished. 

The forest service was continuously updating an interactive map to chart the locations and basic characteristics of each fire, marking active incidents in red and reported incidents in green. Contained and controlled fires were marked brown and gray, respectively.

A wildfire in southwestern North Carolina was the largest in the state, having spread more than 400 acres in Polk County near the South Carolina border, according to the forest service. Fire officials had contained 30% of the blaze as of Monday — a significant jump from zero containment reported a day earlier.

Another 112 wildfires were registered Monday by the South Carolina Forestry Commission, which also released a map to show where blazes have started around the state. Like their northern neighbor, fire officials included reported, active, contained and controlled fires in the list. At least six wildfires were actively burning, although there were at least three other active blazes reported and not yet confirmed.

Where are the fires in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina?

A massive blaze engulfed at least 1,600 acres in Horry County, South Carolina, stemming from a forest fire that first erupted Saturday when brush lit up in flames as a dry spell coincided with unusually warm temperatures. Residents of several neighborhoods in the Carolina Forest, about 10 miles west of the oceanside resort city Myrtle Beach, were ordered to evacuate after the fire broke out. 

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency. 

Firefighters were able to contain 30% of the blaze by Sunday afternoon, after planes and a Black Hawk helicopter were seen dumping water onto the fire earlier in the morning. Ground crews were also seen using tractors to dig lines around the wildfire’s perimeter. 

Horry County officials permitted evacuees to return to their homes on Sunday, but the county’s fire rescue service warned that any residents previously ordered to leave the area should remain cautious of potential weather changes to come, and urged them to “watch for possible rekindling of hot spots.” 

One-third of the fire remained contained on Monday, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.

How big are the Carolina wildfires?

Blazes in Polk County, North Carolina, and near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Monday were the biggest in each state by far.

The Polk County fire was the second-largest between both Carolinas, covering between 400 and 500 acres of land. Exact figures differed slightly between the North Carolina Forest Service and Polk County Emergency Management, with the forest service listing its size at 400 acres and local crews estimating it had grown overnight to 481 acres.

Another fire in central North Carolina’s Harnett County, near Fayetteville, was burning over 175 acres of land on Monday, the North Carolina Forest Service said. Almost all of that fire had been contained.