Update: Wildfires ‘smolder’ as 60 mph wind gusts, tornadoes possible in Horry County

Severe weather that could bring 60 mph damaging winds Wednesday comes as the wildfire in the Myrtle Beach area goes from an active fire to smoldering

A wind advisory has been issued from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday in Horry County. Wind gusts are expected to exceed 50 mph throughout the morning. 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 in Wilmington, North Carolina.

While the rain will be a relief, Horry County officials are concerned about the wind gusts which will be in excess of 50 mph outside the thunderstorm. The forecast also calls for the potential of tornadoes.

“We’re concerned about the winds increasing (Tuesday night) and (Wednesday),” according to Russell Hubright with the South Carolina Forestry Commission. “We’re prepping the best we can for this wind event.”

Because many trees in the burned areas have been compromised structurally, responding firefighters will be flowing water from the outside, to maintain containment levels, not entering the woods for safety reasons if winds are too intense, according to Horry County officials.

The fire has, in essence, been brought down to embers and there is little “active fire movement,” Hubright said. However, the high winds could feed the flames or send embers flying, creating a fire elsewhere.

“There aren’t hardly any flames at this point, but they’re smoldering,” Hubright said. “It’s like a campfire or something that’s been basically put out; there’s still some heat in there.”

Horry County spokesperson Thomas Bell said Monday that officials hope the forecasted storm, especially the rain, will help rather than hurt. Bell said by text that crews spent a large part of Tuesday reinforcing defensive lines around the fire.

But, ultimately, it is still too early to tell if the weather will affect the current wildfire.

“It’s just one of those days that you don’t know what’s gonna happen until it happens,” Bell said.

Firefighters continued efforts Tuesday to contain the wildfire that covers more than 2,000 acres in the Carolina Forest area.

Updated mapping shows that the fire stretches over 2,059 acres, Hubright said. Of that amount, only 30% of the wildfire has been contained, meaning that a control line has been placed around the fire, but it has not been extinguished.

Hubright said that there was a small amount of growth in the fires Monday, but as of Wednesday there has been no growth. The acreage change comes after a more accurate mapping of the area. The forestry commission reported Tuesday that 10 new wildfire ignitions happened on Monday.

The cause of the fires have not been determined. However, it is believed to be human-caused.

The first report of the fire that became the wildfire in Carolina Forest was spotted about 2:30 p.m. Saturday behind a house in one of the affected neighborhoods, Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov said by text Tuesday.

She said that is not “necessarily the ignition point or cause,” which can only be determined once the fire is totally extinguished. Moskov said rumors that someone was burning in a backyard, causing the fire, is not a fact at this point.

Hubright said by text that the wildfire was not caused by the controlled burn conducted earlier in the Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve along International Drive by the South Carolina Forestry Commission.

No homes have been lost during the wildfires, officials say. Additional evacuations are not expected, but officials advise residents to be weather aware and pack a to-go bag in case they are asked to leave their homes.

Planes and helicopters will not be used to dump water on the wildfires Wednesday unless wind speeds slow, Hubright said. Firefighters and forestry crews will continue to use bulldozers, brush trucks and walking to create firebreaks around the fire.

Burn bans remain in Horry County and statewide and an air quality alert are in place.

This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.

Terri Richardson

The Sun News