Parts of Pickens and Greenville counties are under mandatory evacuation due to the spread of the Table Rock and Persimmon Ridge fires.
The evacuations were announced Tuesday evening by the South Carolina Forestry Commission. According to officials, the decision to evacuate the neighborhoods was influenced by how close together the fires were.
Families have already started to look for refuge. Residents that were evacuated can now access the Marietta First Baptist Church, located at 2936 Geer Highway.
“It’s scary,” Megan Miller, a Greenville County resident stated. “It’s scary because it’s one thing knowing that you’re about to lose something and you have a time crunch and what’s some more thing versus we just need to get up and go.”
Miller has ten children. She claimed to have realized that it is better to be safe than sorry following Hurricane Helene.
“I was going stir crazy. [I] didn’t even know what to pack and so we need to go ahead and leave because more than likely, we’re going to have to evacuate later,” Miller added. “Sure enough, a couple of hours later, we started hearing on the radio that more people were evacuating and so we got out about 3 o’clock.”
According to the SC Forestry Commission, there will be an immediate evacuation due to the heightened fire activity on Tuesday afternoon.
Madeline Stewart of the SCFC stated, “We could see flames on the mountain, and seeing flames during the daytime is not a good sign.” “There has been a lot of smoke, of course.”
According to Stewart, law enforcement will notify residents who need to evacuate.
“The area is very smoky right now,” Stewart stated. “We’re going to see increased fire behavior in the days to come especially overnight as we see these gusty winds. You don’t wanna go to bed not knowing whether you need to evacuate if you feel like you need to evacuate if you’ve been told to evacuate, please do.”
Until further notice, all outdoor burning, campfires, bonfires, and other recreational fires are illegal in South Carolina due to a statewide burning ban.
Evacuations Are Now Required
Pickens County
Residents of the following roads should leave, according to Pickens County officials:
Asia Li Lane, Bird Song Trail, Blue Mountain Way, Bluff Ridge Road, Bobcat Drive, Bridle Drive, Caesars Head Highway, Cherry Blossom Lane, Cisson Ridge Road, Cold Mountain View, Cougar Trail, Cripple Creek Road, Curts Way, Dogwood Mountain Road, Dry Lake Road, Duckwood Lane, Elizabeth Drive, Fast Lane, Fish Hawk Road, Green Acres Drive, Hardin Road, Hardwood Lane, Highway 11, Ledge Road, Locust Ridge, Misty Mountain Way, Mulligan Ford Hill Road, Pumpkin Lane, Pumpkin Mountain Road, Raven Cliff Road, Raven Court, Ridge Springs Road, River Bluff Road, River Road, Rockcrest Road, Rockcrest Ridge, Rockview Court, Rocky Road, S Saluda Road, Saluda Hill Road, Saluda Shore Drive, Trinity Trail, Wayside Drive, Wild Brook Drive, Winding Trail and Wotawok Trail.
How is my kid going to get to school?
The alternate bus pickup place for students impacted by evacuations will be at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, located at 620 Pleasant Grove Road in Pickens, according to the Pickens County School District.
Pickens Middle School and Pickens High School students will be picked up at 7:40 a.m., while Ambler Elementary School kids will be picked up at 6:40 a.m.
To schedule transportation to and from school, families can also call the Pickens Area Transportation Office at (864) 397-1173.
Schools will be flexible with regard to attendance, assignments, and make-up work for affected pupils, according to district officials.
Greenville County
The following counties are subject to mandatory, immediate evacuations, per Greenville County Emergency Services:
Table Rock Road, Matthews Creek Lane, River Rock Court, Ragsdale Road, Pipe Line Lane, Gintomo Road, Hagood Road, Haygood Road, Lakemont Road, Caesars Head Highway, Sky Ranche Road, Asbury Drive, Laurel Drive, Saluda Hill Church Road, Geer Highway, Burgess Road, Grey Logs Trail, Caesars Point, River Rock Court, Spring Park Drive, North Lake Drive, Trails End, Boy Scout Road, Sevenbark Lane, Larkspur Lane, Table Rock Road extension, Mountain Laurel Drive, Birchbend, Sourwood Lane, Conifer Falls Road, Hemlock Trail, Cliff Ridge Drive, Rhododendron, Trillium Way, Chestnut Bluff, Echo Drive, Echo Drive extension, Jack Ray Drive, Southside Drive, Sunrise Drive, Upper Oil Camp, Woodvine, Columbine Way, Old Springfield Road, Rosemond Road, Burgess Road, Lookoff Drive, Club Terrace Drive, Wildcat Road, Punctatum Pl, Point Of View Lane and Happy Acres Road.
Transylvania County
Both of the fires advanced toward the county on Tuesday, prompting Transylvania County Chairman Jason Chappell to proclaim a state of emergency.
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Residents of the Big Hill Community, Glady Fork Road, Lake Honda, and the Happy Acres neighborhood were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday evening.
In order to notify locals of the evacuations, crews are knocking on doors.
Carr Hill Church, located at 79 Becky Mountain Road, is being used as a makeshift refuge for evacuees.
Officials from the county are trying to find a permanent shelter site.
This Information has been sourced from wspa.
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