Colder temperatures and drier air tend to increase wildfires in South Carolina.
January and February are the unofficial seasons for such fires, more than half of which are human-caused.
Awendaw-McClellanville Fire District Deputy Fire Chief Michael Bowers knows first-hand how something as trivial as a trailing boat trailer chain can cause fires in some of the most rural areas of the Lowcountry. increase.
He said it’s not uncommon to see vehicles carrying watercraft for boating and fishing, as ramps are abundant in the area.
However, when the chain used to secure the trailer to the vehicle drags across the ground, it can create sparks and lead to roadside fires with leaves, pine needles, or dry kindling.
“There were probably 20 spot fires on Sewee Road one year, hundreds of feet from each other, and someone was driving off Garris Landing (Cape Roman National Wildlife Refuge).” Bowers said.
The driver of the vehicle had been on the boat earlier in the day and had dragged the chain off the landing.
“They started making sparks and it fell into the woods,” Bowers said. “We see it a lot.”
In other cases, people deliberately start small fires that eventually expand.
Bowers said he knew of at least one fire that started in a man’s backyard and entered the Francis Marion National Forest. He was burning a small pile of leaves.
The man inside was taking a nap, and “the next thing we knew he had burned five acres of forest,” Bowers said, adding that “beware of fire” is a situation like this. said to be the key to preventing
Major Wildfire Concerns
state record show There have been nearly 1,900 wildfires on about 16,000 acres so far this year. Most of them were preventable and were due to escaping debris burns, which accounted for his 60{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c} of calls to state fire departments last year. Other intentional fires account for 14{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c} of wildfires in the state.
Damage and smoke are two of the biggest concerns of wildfires in South Carolina.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said wildfire smoke can irritate the lungs, causing inflammation and affecting a person’s immune system, making them more susceptible to lung infections.
Wind can also be a concern due to its ability to blow fire past its point of origin. This was seen by him in 2011 during “The Windy Fire” in McClellanville. The fire reportedly crossed US Highway 17 and spread over 2,500 acres. At the time, the fire was said to be one of the largest the state’s coastal region had seen in a decade.
The largest wildfires recorded in the state were 30,000 acres fire in Horley County in 1976; It started at an empty campfire southeast of Conway. He worked seven days before the Carolina-wide fire department declared the fire under control.
Wind drives smoke from the wind-fired fire that broke out in McClellanville in March 2011. SC Forestry Commission/Provided
The worst-case scenario for these fires is when forests, which are becoming more common along the coast, meet urban areas.
“You can’t drive a bulldozer anywhere in your neighborhood, so it’s much harder to get them out,” said Daryl Jones, forest conservation chief for the South Carolina Forestry Commission. cannot be delivered.”
According to the 2010 Census, about 100 million people, or one-third of the U.S. population, live in the so-called “wild city interface,” said the Deputy Director for Government Relations Fire and Disaster Mitigation at the International Code Council. President Karl Fipinger said. Department.
That number has likely increased since then, but the data from the 2020 Census is still fresh enough that members of the firefighting community are still trying to analyze it.
“The big thing here is that 2 million acres[urban wilderness boundaries]are added a year,” said Fipinger, adding that more than 46 million homes and 70,000 communities are at risk of wildfires. I pointed out that I was exposed.
Bowers said about 99 percent of the Awendo-McClellanville Fire District is within the city limits. This means that most of the houses there are surrounded by forests.
Holly County’s “Highway 31 Fire” in April 2019 was the worst urban interface fire in the state, according to the State Fire Board. Due to low humidity, high winds and combustible vegetation, the fire burned over 19,000 acres, destroyed 76 homes and damaged 97. Just like Windy Fire, this one flew over SC Highway 31 with flames over 100 feet high.
Report from Pew Trust showed that the average area burned by wildfires in the United States between 2017 and 2021 is 68{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c} greater than the 1983-2016 average. However, the available information points to significant growth in recent years, says the report.
South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Cliburn’s office recently reported news Under the $1 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021, South Carolina can expect to receive $15 million over five years for wildfire protection.
fire containment
There are several ways people can reduce the risk and prevent the spread of intentional fires. First, state law requires that you notify the Forestry Commission before burning a field outdoors. The law does not apply to town or city boundaries.
A firebreak should be maintained around all deliberate fires and people should have some means of stopping the fire if it escapes. , which includes access to items such as shovels.
Aftermath of the wind-driven fire in McClellanville in March 2011. SC Forestry Commission/Provided
Authorities are urging the fire not to be extinguished until it is safe to do so.
To potentially reduce fires in vegetated areas, builders can consider fire-resistant structures, defensible spaces, water supplies, fire sprinklers and emergency vehicle access, Fippinger said. says.
Those who choose to contact the Fire Board before burning debris in their yard will be advised of the current fire hazard level in the area.A list of contact numbers for each county can be found at website.
“Being aware of the fire” is key to preventing an out-of-control situation, officials say.
