Hurricane Matthew leads to large blaze in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - As the driving rain and powerful winds of Hurricane Matthew bore down on South Carolina’s coast late Saturday, rescue officials were forced to deal with a large blaze.
CBS Charleston affiliate WCSC-TV reports a fire was first reported at one home in the Cherry Grove area on Saturday evening. Winds from the hurricane, which has since been downgraded to a tropical cyclone, blew embers onto nearby houses.
When the blaze was first reported, the area was still under evacuation orders for the storm. NMB Battalion Chief Todd Davis told WCSC the firefighters who first went to the scene under escort from the National Guard did not go against orders.
On arrival, first responders reported being unable to do anything because of the winds. Eventually, they used hoses to prevent other nearby homes from burning. In the end, five building were reported destroyed by the blaze.
Although Matthew has been downgraded to a tropical cyclone, the storm is still dumping dangerous amounts of rain on the Carolinas on Sunday.
What will go down as one of the most potent hurricanes on record was blamed for at least 10 deaths in the U.S. and hundreds more in Haiti. As Matthew made its slow exit off the East Coast, dozens of people - including a woman and her small child - had to be rescued from their cars as life-threatening flash floods surprised many in North Carolina.