As of Monday afternoon, the almost 500 acre fire in Saluda was 30% contained, according to the Polk County Fire Marshal. The fire is one of several across the region which is still recovering from Hurricane Helene.
High winds on Saturday caused a power line to fall, sparking the blaze, Polk County Fire Marshal Bobby Arledge said. The wind continued through the weekend, exacerbating the spread of the fire. The wind had died down a bit by Monday, helping the over 100 firefighters working to control the flames.
Another reason that officials are optimistic: rain. The area is expected to get showers throughout Tuesday night into Wednesday.
鈥淲e hope that really pretty much puts everything out that's not contained right now,鈥� Arledge said.
The U.S. Forest Service is responding to the Saluda fire and several others throughout North Carolina and South Carolina, according to .
鈥淭he brave men and women of the U.S. Forest Service began responding immediately to the fires in the Carolinas,鈥� U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said. 鈥淲e will ensure they have the resources, personnel, and support they need to swiftly put out the fires. They are working closely with state and local partners, and we are grateful for all the firefighters working on the frontlines.鈥� Rollins is scheduled to visit the area on Friday.
Wildfire has been a concern in the region left behind countless downed trees. The trees are not only fuel for wildfires but also make it more difficult to fight them, Arledge said.
鈥溾�奣here's just so much blow-down, trees and debris from all from Helene. So it's really caused a lot of problems for us trying to put fire lines in because the trees are down,鈥� Arledge said. 鈥淪o all the trees and everything else has really been a challenge.鈥�
Crews are using a technique called 鈥渂ack burning,鈥� a tactic in which firefighters burn all the downed trees ahead of the fire. The technique helps firefighters get ahead of the flames and control them.
About 40 people voluntarily evacuated their homes in the area because of the fire. As of Monday afternoon, there has been no damage to homes or lives.
Arledge said the fire is the largest in the county in almost two decades.
Multiple counties, including Polk, are under an open burning ban in effect until Wednesday morning. The ban prohibits all open burning of yard waste, debris or land-clearing burns.
The National Park Service banned all campfires and charcoal use on both the North Carolina and Tennessee sides of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The National Weather Service issued Monday morning cautioning of increased fire potential across the region. The dry conditions, with minimum
relative humidity of 20 to 25 percent later Monday, pose additional risk.
鈥淲hile winds are expected to be light and temperatures still on the cool side of normal, dry vegetation due to lack of recent rainfall combined with the dry air will once again result in increased wildfire danger in northeast Georgia, Upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina,鈥� according to the alert.
