Horry County Fire

(This picture is from our front door)


(This picture is about 2 or so miles down the road from us taken by Billy Pournaras on scnow.com)


(This is just a half mile down the road from the picture above, last night. From scnow.com Ed Parsons/Intracoastal Waterway Bridge @ Robert Grissom)

You can see more pictures here)

This post is to inform people that we are okay at this point :) There is a huge wild fire burning just north of us (about 5 or 6 miles). It has been going since yesterday at noon and we have been having very windy and dry conditions that is obviously not helping the situation. It is said to be moving north, and we are south of it. We should be okay, but I'm still a little skeptical because they are not reporting that the fire is contained at all.

I have a list of things to gather if they tell us to evacuate, and our 72-hour kits ready. There are multiple shelters and we have friends that are willing to help us out. Here is the latest in the news:

From scnow.com

"NORTH MYRTLE BEACH – Fifteen thousand acres have burned and 70 homes have been destroyed so far by a fast-moving Horry County wildfire that started Wednesday north of Conway and burned into North Myrtle Beach early Thursday morning.

Gov. Mark Sanford declared a state of emergency because of the wildfire.

Horry County schools in North Myrtle Beach are closing and 2.500 residents living in the area between SC 22 and the Main Street Connector at SC 31 are being evacuated after a wildfire spread into North Myrtle Beach Thursday morning.
School officials sent out a release Thursday morning indicating parents could pick their children up at the schools until10:30 a.m. After that point students will be taken to Loris area schools for the remainder of the day before being returned to North Myrtle Beach for transportation home, according to the release.
Shelters have been set up at North Myrtle Beach City Hall and Barefoot Church. The Red Cross has established shelters at The House of Blues and the North Myrtle Beach Aquatics and Fitness Center, 1100 2nd Ave. South.
Pets are not allowed in the Red Cross shelters, however, arrangements are being made with Horry County Humane Society to bring in a mobile trailer with individual cages to house pets.
As of 7 a.m., a spokesperson for the Red Cross said there were approximately 200 people registered in the shelter at the Aquatics Center and 26 at the House of Blues with dozens more milling around in the parking lot area.
North Myrtle Beach Public Information Officer Nicole Aiello says between 30-50 homes burned in the Barefoot Resort area off of Highway 17. Most of the damage occurred in the Longwood and Dye Club part of the resort, Aiello said.
So far, no injuries were reported.
The SC Department of Natural Resources and the SC Forestry Commission estimate the fire had burned between 7,000 - 8,000 acres by Thursday morning.
Aiello says officials requested air support from the National Guard, beginning at daybreak.
Horry County Fire and Rescue spokesman Todd Cartner says residents living on Water Tower Road were also evacuated overnight.
The fire has forced the closure of two major roads in the area – Highway 22 from Highway 17 to Highway 90 and Highway 31 from Grissom Parkway to Water Tower Road.
Shortly before 7:30 Thursday morning, authorities reopened Highway 90 from Lee’s Landing and Old Reaves Road.
Horry County schools will operate on a regular schedule Thursday, although some buses may be delayed due to the road closures.
The Horry County Emergency Operations Center will open at full activation at 8 a.m.
Citizens can call Horry County Emergency Management at 915-5150 for updated information.
Horry County fire Rescue spokesman Todd Cartner reported Wednesday night that the fire had spread to the Grande Dunes Golf Club. Officials at the club say the fire jumped Highway 31 and got to the protective berm that separates the highway from the golf course. Firefighters were able to contain the fire and it never reached the first hole of the course. The club will be open for business on Thursday morning.
State Forestry Commission spokesman Scott Hawkins says organic material in the swampy soil is feeding the fire. Hawkins says crews continue to struggle to contain the fire and that high winds and low humidity will hamper firefighters through Thursday.
The Red Cross opened a shelter Wednesday afternoon at Tilly Swamp Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 4619 Hwy 90, Conway in the area where the fire originally broke out.
As of 6:30 Wednesday night, 13 people had registered at the shelter. The Red Cross closed the shelter Thursday morning after authorities gave evacuees in the area the all clear.
Stay with scnow.com and News13 for more on this developing story as new information becomes available.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report."