Firefighters in the Carolinas battle multiple wildfires as New Jersey
crews contain a forest blaze
[March 25, 2025]
By The Associated Press
Firefighters in North and South Carolina were battling multiple
wind-driven wildfires Monday in rugged terrain that complicated
containment efforts, officials said.
Millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year combined
with long stretches of dry weather this spring are making for a long and
active fire season in the Carolinas, North Carolina State University
forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller said.
“Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,” Scheller said. “Then
these flash droughts allow that fuel to dry out very fast.”
Both South Carolina and North Carolina have issued statewide bans on
outdoor burning.
North Carolina fires
Mandatory evacuations continue for about 165 properties in parts of Polk
County in western North Carolina, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) west
of Charlotte, according to county spokesperson Kellie Cannon.
Three fires burned at least 7.5 square miles (19.5 square kilometers) in
the county and the two larger blazes were completely uncontained, Cannon
said in a social media update Monday morning. The Black Cove Fire, one
of the larger ones, was moving toward neighboring Henderson County,
Cannon said.
Kim Callaway, who lives near one of the evacuated areas in Polk County,
has prepared her home, WLOS-TV reported.
“We’ve already actually evacuated everything that we thought that was
important,” Callaway said. “And now we’re just staying at the house and
trying to do what we can to get our house prepared if the firemen need
to show up and hold the line.”
A downed power line sparked the Black Cove Fire, but the causes of the
other two fires in Polk County were under investigation, according to
North Carolina Forest Service spokesperson Jeremy Waldrop.
A number of other wildfires burning across the state including one that
damaged 500 vehicles at a salvage yard in Burke County, officials said.
South Carolina fires
Two fires in the South Carolina mountains have led Gov. Henry McMaster
to declare a state of emergency.
One fire was in Table Rock State Park in Pickens County and the other
was on Persimmon Ridge in Greenville County. Winds and difficult
mountainous terrain allowed blazes to grow, the South Carolina Forestry
Commission said.
The Table Rock Fire expanded to more than 2 square miles (5.3 square
kilometers), including several hundred acres that firefighters
intentionally burned to try to contain the flames, officials said.
The Persimmon Ridge Fire, which started Saturday, spread to more than
1.25 square miles (3.2 square kilometers) despite many dozens of water
drops, the commission said.
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A firefighter looks on as the California Branch wildfire burns
Saturday, March 22, 2025 in New Jersey's Wharton State Forest. (New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via AP)
Human activity ignited both the Table Rock and Persimmon Ridge
fires. No injuries had been reported, and while no structures were
imminently threatened, voluntary evacuations of about 100 homes
remained in place.
How a September hurricane is creating March fires
Scheller, the North Carolina State University professor, predicted
this busy fire season if the region saw dry weather following
Helene.
Scientists saw something similar in 2022 when a fire burned more
than 51 square miles (133 square kilometers) of timberland in the
Florida Panhandle. The Bertha Swamp Road Fire almost directly
followed the eye pattern from 2018's Hurricane Michael and the
fallen pine trees left behind.
Pines and their waxy needles dry out and become very flammable,
Scheller said. The fallen trunks can also block roads and paths used
to fight fires, experts said.
The last ingredient to fuel wildfires is dry weather. Despite recent
rain, the Carolinas are undergoing an extreme drought, according to
federal monitors.
The common denominator for many fires on the East Coast is human
activity, whether people burn debris, light a campfire that isn’t
well watched or toss out cigarette, Scheller said.
And more people living next to areas that can burn make fires a
bigger threat, he said.
New Jersey fire
A forest fire burning in New Jersey’s million-acre Pinelands region
was 100% contained on Monday morning, the New Jersey Forest Fire
Services said in a post on X. The fire was first spotted Saturday
and burned through about 3.5 square miles (5.8 kilometers).
That blaze led authorities to evacuate two campgrounds in Wharton
State Forest, officials said. The cause was under investigation.
Fire forecast
A front moving off the East Coast brought rain and more humidity to
the area, helping firefighters Monday.
But not much rain fell and temperatures are expected to get warmer
and the air drier as the week goes on, likely meaning another round
of wildfires unless people follow burn bans and fire safety.
“It is absolutely paramount that folks respect the statewide ban on
all open burning,” North Carolina Forest Service spokesperson Philip
Jackson. said.
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