Monday, Apr. 27, 2009

Myrtle Beach area fire still smolders

Crews look for aid from humidity, future rainfall

North Myrtle Beach | Smoke from a fire that lurks near neighborhoods on S.C. 31 and S.C. 90 coupled with dense fog closed highways and delayed school openings in the area this morning.

The S.C. Forestry commission said firefighters were preparing for an expected wind shift, which could blow the fire in a different direction.

The blaze - which started Wednesday, destroyed 70 houses and 19,600 acres, and continued to smolder Sunday - was 85 percent contained by Sunday afternoon, said Russell Hubright, spokesman for the S.C. Forestry Commission.

Fire crews were working around the clock to plow fire breaks and place protective barriers around vulnerable homes at the Black Creek subdivision, Hubright added.

The humidity level this week should be around 45 percent, and winds could arrive today from the southeast, which will add much-needed moisture to the environment, said Tim Armstrong, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, N.C.

There is a chance the winds could suddenly switch to the northeast for a short time this afternoon, which could cause the fire to possibly spread to different neighborhoods, Hubright said.

Last week's fire was whipped by westerly winds of 35 mph.

"By Friday, a small front will approach and give us a chance of thunderstorms," Armstrong said. "For the past three weeks, there has only been .35 inches of rain, with the normal rainfall in April being 1.7 inches."

The rainfall for the year along the Grand Strand remains 4.86 inches below normal, Armstrong said.

The fire caused road closures throughout the weekend, but most roads reopened by Sunday afternoon, Hubright said.

Part of S.C. 31 remained blocked Sunday afternoon, due to dangerous conditions and firefighting measures continuing in that area, Hubright said.

S.C. 90 and 22 were reopened to traffic at 10 a.m. Sunday, after visibility improved, Horry County officials said in a press release. Poor visibility could be an issue on those roads early today, they said.

S.C. forestry officials said Sunday that cleanup was continuing along S.C. 90. That involved shooting water and foam on hot spots and turning over smoldering vegetation.

Helicopters loaded with 700-gallon buckets of water continued to fly over the area Sunday, dumping liquid on potential hot spots.

The helicopter flights are expected to continue today.

"It's a day-by-day thing. We'll have to see what our progress is," Hubright said.

"We cut some fire lines around Black Creek neighborhood just as a contingency," Hubright said. "We want to make sure if this fire does anything unexpected, we have it ready for [firefighters]."

Hubright did not know when S.C. 31 would reopen.

The local Red Cross on Sunday announced it had opened an emergency aid station in the parking lot of the Barefoot Resort Clubhouse in North Myrtle Beach.

Police officer injured

At least one injury was reported Sunday in connection to the blaze.

An Horry County police officer was injured about 7:15 a.m. after attempting to redirect a driver who approached one of the roads closed because of the wildfire smoke.

The 28-year-old driver was traveling on S.C. 90 near the Hillsborough subdivision, said Lt. Myron Creel of the Horry County Police Department.

The officer went to the vehicle to inform the driver the road was closed, when he noted drugs and told the driver to shut off his engine.

The driver accelerated, ran over the officer's foot and drove away. Other officers caught the driver several minutes later.

Marijuana and a 9 mm gun were recovered, Creel said.

Charges are pending. The officer was taken to a local hospital for treatment and has been released, Creel said.

Tourist inquiries subside

The fire has prompted many people to call local campgrounds and hotels to see if they remained open.

Hoteliers in North Myrtle Beach said they received a flood of calls last week about the fire, but those inquiries have more or less subsided.

"We did get an enormous amount of phone calls, people wanting to know what's going on," said Teresa Gump, front desk clerk at Ocean Drive Beach and Golf Resort, on Sunday. "We kept trying to tell them everything's fine."

Gump said that nobody decided to cancel their reservations because of the fire.

Marc Jordan, president of the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber sent out press releases and posted information online to let people know that "some folks have experienced terrible tragedies here, but in no way has it impacted the oceanfront or the resort area."

Monte Joyce, manager of Red Tree Inn in North Myrtle Beach, said he also hadn't had any reservation cancellations and only received a few calls on Sunday.

"We had a call or two today about it, but I think pretty much everybody's got the word that the fire is pretty much under control now," he said.

The Apache Campground has received numerous phone calls in the past several days, but only one person who had breathing problems changed travel plans, said employee Sandra Loudermilk.

Smoke was thick around the campground Sunday morning but had cleared by Sunday afternoon, she said.

The area remained filled almost to capacity with campers.

Lou Jane Chestnut, an employee at Big Cypress Lake RV Park in Conway, said she would like to see the word spread that "Myrtle Beach is up and running and doing great.

Everyone thinks Myrtle Beach is gone, but everything is wonderful in Myrtle Beach."