A large and destructive wildfire started last night in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The fire which first appeared right after midnight, continued burning through the night and into the morning destroying dozens of homes and destroying over 15,000 acres in it’s wake. The area around the Barefoot Landing development has been hit the hardest.
Fortunately authorities were quick to the scene and were successful in evacuating around 2,500 people to safe locations nearby. As of now no injuries or deaths have been reported.
Myrtle Beach rests along the coast of South Carolina and is one of the state’s busiest tourist spots, making it an important economic driver. This fire threatens to damage that. Moving into action South Carolina’s governor Mark Sanford has declared a state of emergency and is working to move as many men into action as possible. However, men may not be enough. According to a spokesman from the Forestry Commission, “Once you get a fire in the bay, it’s very, very hard to put out.” Rain is usually the best bet.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
(Photo courtesy of the Charlotte Observer)
Yikes, that looks scary. I hope not too many state firefighters have been laid off after Sanford declined federal aid. Could be bad.
Oh My! We are from Canada, this is where we planned to have our vacation at the end of July! I read that Barefoot landing area took the hardest hit. There goes the tourism.
…and here we thought the federal aid was only for education.
my 3 year old little girl loves to go there and is praying for those people and the animals to be kept safe. let’s follow the example of a child and keep them in our prayers as well.
my sister, mother, nephew joseph, neice gianna and 2 dogs are evacuating as i type. i ask for people tp pray for their safety