Rain begins to fall in Myrtle Beach area. Is it helping with Carolina Forest wildfire?

Rain has begun to fall in the Myrtle Beach area ahead of a severe thunderstorm that is expected across Horry County Wednesday afternoon.

Crews with the South Carolina Forestry Commission and Horry County Fire Rescue, as well as other departments across South Carolina and in North Carolina, continue to battle the wildfire in Carolina Forest that covers 2,059 acres.

The wildfire area received a small amount of rain early Wednesday morning, according to Russell Hubright with the SC Forestry Commission, and more is heading that way, according to the current radar from the National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Strong winds precede possibly severe thunderstorms that will arrive in the area between noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, which will likely hamper or suspend efforts, temporarily, to continue the firefighting work, according to the forestry commission.

NWS has a wind advisory from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday in Horry County. Wind gusts are expected to exceed 50 mph beginning about 9 a.m. A tornado watch also has been issued from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Horry County is expected to receive severe thunderstorms between 1 to 6 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

While the rain will be a relief, Horry County officials are concerned about the wind gusts which will be in excess of 40 mph, possibly reaching 60 mph.

Crews have spent time prepping for the pending storm, Hubright said.

A great deal of water was dropped on the wildfire by Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters, as well as single-engine planes, Tuesday, Hubright said. It was unsure how many gallons were dropped, but each bucket contains between 600 to 800 gallons.

Hubright said that the updated forestry commission map of the wild fire shows a “good bit of black” which indicates a contained fire edge. He expects that there may be a higher containment amount announced later Wednesday.

The aircraft were unable to fly Wednesday because of the weather. The planes had to shift where they get water, moving away from the Intracoastal Waterway because of boats and docks, Hubright said.

“It’s kind of dangerous and for the people around,” Hubright said. “It’s not a very wide waterway. There’s not much margin for error.”

Hubright said that the Federal Aviation Administration has rules for how close planes can be to people and property.

The helicopters are now able to get water near Covington Drive, which is where the forestry crews are working to contain the wildfire in that area. The planes, however, are having to get water from the Black River in Georgetown County.

This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 9:47 AM.

Terri Richardson

The Sun News