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In South Carolina, where more than 175 fires burned 6.6 square
miles (17 square kilometers), Gov. Henry McMaster declared a
state of emergency on Sunday to support the wildfire response
effort, and a statewide burning ban remained in effect.
Crews made progress containing a fire in the Carolina Forest
area west of the coastal resort city of Myrtle Beach, where
residents had been ordered to evacuate several neighborhoods,
according to Horry County Fire Rescue. Video showed some people
running down the street as smoke filled the sky. But by late
Sunday afternoon, the fire department announced that Carolina
Forest evacuees could return home.
The South Carolina Forestry Commission estimated Sunday evening
that the blaze had burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square
kilometers) with 30 percent of it contained. No structures had
succumbed to the blaze and no injuries had been reported as of
Sunday morning, officials said.
In North Carolina, the U.S. Forest Service said fire crews were
working to contain multiple wildfires burning in four forests
across the state on Sunday. The largest, about 400 acres (162
hectares), was at Uwharrie National Forest, about 50 miles
(80.47 kilometers) east of Charlotte. The Forest Service said
Sunday afternoon that it had made progress on the fire, reaching
about one-third containment.
The small southwestern town of Tryon in Polk County, North
Carolina, urged some residents to evacuate Saturday as a fire
spread rapidly there. The evacuations remained in effect Sunday.
A decision on whether to lift them was expected to be made
Monday after intentional burns are set to try to stop the fire
from spreading.
That fire has burned about 500 acres (202 hectares) as of late
Sunday, with zero percent containment, according to the Polk
County Emergency Management/Fire Marshal's office. The North
Carolina Forest Service was conducting water drops and
back-burning operations on the ground, and area residents should
expect a lot of smoke during those operations, officials said.
Officials have not said what caused any of the fires.
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