Upcoming season could stretch S.C. firefighter to limit

By Jonathan Tressler
The Sun News

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — If the coming wildfire season turns fierce, and some experts say it could, forestry resources in the Carolinas could be stretched to their limits, according to officials.

Forestry officials in North and South Carolina say they could end up calling on other agencies for help similar to that provided by some area firefighters when fires burned in October in Southern California. At least 14 people died and about 640,000 were forced from their homes in those fires.

A drier-than-normal year has turned the Carolinas, and the southeast, into a virtual tinderbox, wildfire experts say. Wildfire season is from February through April, but current conditions already have fueled more fires than normal.

In South Carolina for example, the number of wildfires reported reached 3,424 through November, compared to 3,017 in all of 2006, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

"We can handle what's going on now and a little bit more, but if we get a wide-open, active fire season that's larger than usual, with more fires than usual, we'll probably need some outside help," said Darryl Jones, the S.C. Forestry Commission's forest protection chief.

South Carolina has roughly 200 firefighters statewide, who use 175 bulldozers — most between 10 and 20 years old — to battle the blazes.

In North Carolina, 500 forestry firefighters and 100 bulldozers are available statewide, according to Brian Haines, spokesman for the N.C. Division of Forest Resources.

Officials in both states say their wildfire fighting resources are greater than their actual numbers because of cooperation they rely on from outside the area, if needed.

The Carolinas are part of the Southeastern Fire Compact, an agreement among forestry agencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Through the compact, assistance is sped to participating states when fighting wildfires becomes too cumbersome.

In addition to the compact, the states also have cooperative agreements with federal wildfire crews including the U.S. Forestry Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said David Frederick, fire representative for the Southern Group of State Foresters and chair of the Southern Interagency Coordinating Group.

"The whole South is a problem spot," Frederick said. "We have more wildfires in the South than in any other part of the country."

Forestry officials in North and South Carolina say they also rely heavily on local volunteer and career fire departments for combating woodland blazes.

"With wildfires we work a lot with our volunteer firefighters," Haines said.

"We'll go out, plow the line and they'll actually be out fighting fires, so we have those folks kind of available to us, as well."

Horry County Fire Rescue spokesman Todd Cartner said fighting wildfires costs his department "a lot of overtime."

"They're called out quite a bit this time of year," Cartner said.

Overall S.C. Forestry Commission spokesman Scott Hawkins said, "We're fully equipped, ready and able to deal with a moderate wildfire season.

"But what we're looking forward to is an active wildfire season. That's a big issue for us right now."