Wildfires in the Carolinas, fueled by Hurricane Helene debris, rage on: See map
Wildfires continued to rage on in the Carolinas on Friday, burning through more than 17,000 acres this week.
The Table Rock Fire northwest of Greenville, South Carolina, grew significantly Thursday, according to an evening update from the South Carolina Forestry Commission. By Friday, the containment efforts on the eastern edge were holding strong, and they were moving efforts onto the northeastern part of the fire, Derrick Moore, an operations chief with a federal incident management team, said in a video update shared by the commission. The fire stretches up to the North Carolina state line.
South Carolina is also working to contain a smaller fire at Persimmon Ridge, just east of the Table Rock Fire.
In North Carolina, the Black Cove Fire burning southeast of Asheville was first reported Wednesday night and caused by a downed power line, according to the North Carolina Forest Service. It is "the highest priority fire in the U.S.," state officials said. As of Friday morning, it was 17% contained.
The Deep Woods Fire, nearby and slightly bigger than the Black Cove Fire, was 30% contained as of Friday morning, according to the N.C. Fire Service. Its cause remains under investigation.
North Carolina has also nearly completely contained the small Fish Hook Fire, officials said. The fire is just north of Lake Adger, also southeast of Asheville.
"Excessive storm debris and timber damage from Hurricane Helene has created many challenges for firefighting efforts," the Friday update said. "One factor is the loss (of) tree canopy. More ground cover is receiving direct sunlight, accelerating the rate in which fuels dry out."
Evacutaion orders stay in place as alleviating weather not expected until early next week
South Carolina officials said no new evacuations went into effect Thursday, but existing orders remained in place as humidity was expected to drop and wind could reach up to 30 mph.
North Carolina officials said higher temperatures, low humidity and wind are expected, making favorable conditions for the fires to spread. Chance of rain in the area could increase next week, according to the N.C. Forest Service.
Around the U.S. more than 100 million people are at risk of severe weather this weekend, including heavy rain, high winds and possible tornadoes, according to AccuWeather.
Wildfires map: See location of blazes in North Carolina, South Carolina
Across the US: See the Wildfire map
Contributing: Christopher Cann
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at Paste BN. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.