Should you protect your Myrtle Beach, SC home with hoses, sprinklers? Fire experts weigh in

As fires continue to burn across more than 2,000 acres in the Carolina Forest area, the South Carolina Forestry Commission and local departments across the Carolinas continue to suppress the blaze.

But for residents concerned for their property, could using irrigation systems help protect homes and yards? Here’s what experts say.

“Horry County Fire Rescue crews are deploying all our resources that we have, from everything from our hand lines, from using hydrants in the area and so forth, working with forestry on this incident,” said Horry County Fire Rescue public information officer Tony Casey. “We do not necessarily need people to help with the personal use of hoses.”

According to Clemson University associate professor of forest ecology Donald Hagan, using equipment like hoses and sprinklers could help protect your property by wetting combustible materials.

“You are taking potential fuels, whether it’s your house itself that might be flammable or the fuels around your house, the dead vegetation, the leaves and so forth, and by adding water, you’re just making it where it’s going to be more difficult for it to ignite and combust,” Hagan said. “Not necessarily impossible, but as we know, wet fuels are harder to ignite than dry fuels.”

Safety concerns

While hoses and sprinklers could help defend your home, risking exposure to severe weather conditions could endanger your life.

As the area braces for a severe thunderstorm Wednesday afternoon, officials say rain could slow the fire, but strong winds lashing the area could fan or spread the flames. The National Weather Service issued a tornado advisory through 3 p.m. Wednesday for Horry County and a wind advisory through 7 p.m., warning of damaging wind gusts over 60 mph.

Although Casey said the decision to engage personal irrigation equipment is up to individual homeowners, he added that dangerous weather conditions pose safety risks to folks outside.

“It would be preferable with wind in the air today that could be dangerous, and obviously active wildfires, that people kind of hole up in their house…we don’t want any branches coming off or things to injure them, which is always a possibility when it’s this windy,” Casey said.

Proactive approaches

While personal irrigation systems could help protect your property from the immediate threat of wildfire, Hagan says it’s far from a long-term solution.

“That’s a very reactive approach that might be sort of a last-ditch effort that you do when the wildfire is bearing down on your house. More proactive approaches…are going to be more effective in the long run,” Hagan said.

To prevent the ignition and spread of wildfires, Hagan encourages residents to:

• Create a defensible zone, an area with less vegetation and accumulated foliage, around the home

• Keep gutters clear, so potential fuel doesn’t build up

• Mind burn bans

Although officials haven’t determined the cause of the wildfire, and an investigation won’t occur until after the blaze is extinguished, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said the fire wasn’t started by the recent controlled burn in the Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve along International Drive.

As of Wednesday morning, four people in Horry County have been charged with violating the current burn ban, according to county public information officer Mikayla Moskov.

“In many cases, these fires start from a careless homeowner who’s burning leaves or trash outside, and then it spreads,” said Hagan.“ So be mindful if you’re doing any sort of outdoor burning. Make sure that there’s not a burn ban, and be mindful of that defensible space, if it does get out of hand.”