(ASHEVILLE, N.C.) — Strong winds and low humidity could create significant problems for firefighters in the Carolinas on Friday, as wildfires continue to rage throughout both states, officials said.
Red flag warnings are in place for the western Carolinas on Friday with wind gusts reaching 30 mph and a relative humidity as low as 20%, officials said.
“We’ve never had a fire quite like this,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said during a press conference from the site of the Table Rock Complex Fire on Friday. “You’ve seen the movie ‘The Perfect Storm,’ well this might be the perfect fire.”
The high winds come as fires are already raging across both states.
In North Carolina, the Black Cove Complex Fire, located about 30 miles southeast of Asheville, is the highest priority fire in the United States, burning nearly 7,000 acres, according to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
As of Thursday, the Deep Woods Fire, located 5 miles northwest of Columbus, North Carolina, has burned 3,373 acres and is 30% contained, officials said.
Several other fires continue to blaze in North Carolina, including the Alarka Fire in Swain County, which has burned 911 acres and is only 5% contained, and the Rattlesnake Branch Fire, which has torched 629 acres and is 5% contained, officials said. Additionally, the Freedom Farm Fire has burned 130 acres and is 60% contained, according to the Leicester Fire Department.
“The concern is, until they are contained, we have to be on alert,” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said Thursday.
In South Carolina, the Table Rock Complex Fire — located on the South-Carolina-North Carolina border — spread significantly on Thursday, burning 8,769 acres with a perimeter of 34.8 miles, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
Officials said weather conditions on Friday are a “concern for increased fire activity.” As of Friday, the Table Rock Complex Fire is zero percent contained, with more than 1,400 homes and businesses evacuated, the forestry commission said.
The Table Rock Complex Fire also includes the Permission Ridge Fire, located in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area, which itself has grown to 1,992 acres and is zero percent contained as of Friday, officials said.
“Containment will be very difficult to achieve,” Scott Phillips, head of the South Carolina Forestry Commission, said during a press conference Friday.
The South Carolina National Guard has dropped 612,000 gallons of water to help put out these flames, officials said.
A statewide ban on outdoor burning remains in effect in North Carolina and South Carolina, officials said.
These fires are located in steep terrain that has been covered with downed trees and dried vegetation left over from Hurricane Helene, which devastated communities and killed over 230 people back in September.
On Friday, firefighters “hope to complete burnouts of existing unburned areas and focus on improving and holding existing firebreaks,” the forestry commission said.
An elevated fire risk is also in place for most of Georgia, Virginia and eastern Tennessee, officials said.
There have not been any reported injuries from any of the wildfires.
Rain will move in on Sunday and Monday, which could alleviate firefighters and help diminish the flames, officials said.
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