On Earth Day 2009, Horry Co. saw most destructive wildfire in South Carolina history

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Fifteen years ago Monday, the most destructive wildfire in South Carolina history start to burn.

What began on April 22, 2009 as a small blaze in a forested area just off Highway 31 would over the next 36 hours grew into a 19,000-acre conflagration that destroyed 76 homes, damaged 97 others and forced the evacuation of 4,000 people.

It would be nearly a month before officials had full control of the scene, which caused an estimated $17 million in lost timber and another $25 million from the destroyed homes, mostly around the Barefoot Resort.

Highway 31 wildfire after action reportDownload

A 2010 state Forestry Commission after action report outlines the fire’s strength and devastation.
At its peak, the fire spread at more than 2.4 miles an hour, with flame lengths of up to 270 feet.

More than 1,500 people were involved in the response — including three aircraft.

“The Highway 31 fire represents the largest mobilization of SCFC resources to a wildfire on record,” the report says.

At one point, five National Guard Blackhawk helicopters equipped with water buckets helped douse flames as ground crews set up perimeters mapped out by GPS.

Between April 23 and April 27, a statewide burning ban was implemented.

The area was a known fire hazard, having seen nine blazes of between 625 and 30,000 acres from 1954 through 2002.

More commonly known as the “Buist Tract” between Highways 544, 90 and the Intracoastal Waterway, it’s challenging terrain.

“The lack of roads, deep, mucky peat soils, and thick vegetation make it difficult for firefighting equipment to operate safely and efficiently in the area. The fuels present in the area (primarily evergreen shrubs with pine overstory) are known to burn very intensely and support rapid fire spread. Torching, crown fires, and long-range spotting are common in this fuel type,” the after-action report said.

Nobody was seriously hurt or killed — a fact the commission itself called “miraculous” in its report.

“The extreme fire behavior, rapid spread, and unpredictability of the Highway 31 Fire resulted in catastrophic losses of timber, homes and belongings, and it is miraculous that no citizens, firefighters, or public safety officers were killed or seriously injured during this massive mobilization of resources,” the report said.

Officials determined the fire was caused by escaped debris. One day before the fire, a Conway man was issued two tickets by Forestry Commission officers for burning household garbage at his home in the Woodlawn subdivision.

He was cited for failing to notify the Forestry Commission of a burn and allowing fire to spread to the lands of another, facing a maximum combined fine of $732.50.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.

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