A burn ban continues for all unincorporated Horry County, until at least Monday when Horry County Fire Rescue officials said they will re-evaluate the threat. County officials issued the ban Thursday morning.
“Everything was on fire so I just wanted to get all my valuables out of the house,” said Kiana DeLong, an Horry County resident.
Almost two years ago, Delong feared the worst. She was at work when she found out the Windsor Green apartment complex where she lived was on fire.
“I was pretty scared,” said DeLong.
She didn’t lose her home but the fire destroyed 26 buildings and more than 100 individual apartments.
Horry County Fire Rescue established burn bans after the March 2013 Windsor Green fire.
“We want to be able to set something in place that’s going to hopefully prevent another incident like that. I mean you can’t 100 percent prevent it but we want to do the best that we can to try to prevent it,” said Battalion Chief Brian Vanaernum with Horry County Fire Rescue.
Sunday marked the 4th day of the burn ban for all unincorporated parts of the county. Vanaernum said fire-favorable weather conditions, like the day Windsor Green burned, lead to the decision.
“Right now, our humidity outside is very, very low. It’s in the teens which means that especially with the winds out there we’re really at a right, a right condition for a small fire to become a bad fire in a very, very short period of time,” said Vanaernum.
Horry County Fire Rescue officials ask anyone who spots a fire during the burn ban to call 911.
Officials could fine you if you’re caught burning during a burn ban.
