S.C. Wildfire Destroys 70 Homes

South Carolina's biggest wildfire in more than three decades - a blaze 4 miles wide - destroyed dozens of homes Thursday and threatened some of the area's world-famous golf courses at the height of the spring tourist season.

The flames, fed by tinder-dry brush, forced hundreds of people to flee, and some took shelter in the House of Blues honkytonk.

The fire approached Route 17, the main coastal road that links beachfront towns and is lined with fast-food restaurants, beachwear stores and trinket shops. By Thursday evening, the flames were about 3 miles west of the highway.

The blaze scorched about 23 square miles over the past two days and then veered north, heading away from the high-rise hotels that line Myrtle Beach.

There were no reports of injuries, and authorities said they had not determined what sparked the flames.

Acrid smoke formed a plume 3,000 feet high and shifting winds have been the wildcard so far, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

Overnight, 30 mph winds and lingering humidity sprayed hot embers onto lawns and homes. In the dead of night, hundreds of families along a four-mile stretch were startled awake by firefighters and told to get out. Daylight showed dozens of homes in ruins.

Fueled by dry underbrush and highly combustible swamp peat, the blaze destroyed about 70 homes and damaged 100 others. The flames forced authorities to evacuate 2,500 people.

The fire jumped the Carolina Bays Parkway, a busy six lane highway in North Myrtle beach. The high winds pushed flames toward the Intercoastal Waterway, which firefighters hope will act as a natural firebreak and protect the much more densely populated vacation spots to the south in Myrtle Beach, Strassmann reports.

Much of the damage was concentrated at Barefoot Landing, a sprawling complex of houses, condominiums and golf courses separated from the main route through Myrtle Beach by the Intracoastal Waterway.

"The house is completely gone," said Rachel Plaga, a 38-year-old nurse, who later began sobbing. "It was like Armageddon back there. There was nothing. Everything was gone. My whole life. My kid's whole life. It was horrific."

Another woman who broke down in tears had to be helped to a seat by a Red Cross worker.

After they were evacuated, some 200 residents spent the rest of the day in and around the nearby House of Blues, where officials gave them updates. Hours later, they were ushered inside to watch a video of the fire damage because they were not yet allowed to return to their homes.

Just a few miles south along the coast, people were unaffected. Golfers kept their tee times and tourists spread out on the beaches. Hotel managers, who offered vouchers to the evacuees, said they could not even smell the smoke.

The fire started several miles inland Wednesday, near subdivisions and golf courses that have been carved from forest and swamps over decades. On Thursday, state forestry officials said they issued two citations to someone for starting a fire that got out of control, but it was unclear whether that person had started the massive blaze.

The fire could burn for weeks. Dense vegetation here called Carolina Bays is so lush, so much fuel for fire, only a sustained heavy rain might put it out., reports Strassmann.