There is a wildfire near N. Myrtle Beach, SC, which has consumed 15k acres and destroyed 69 homes. The Governor has declared Horry(pronounced o-ree) County a disaster area. This is near the beach resort area that the locals call The Redneck Rivera and is built up for at least 40 miles along the coast. Large number of golf courses are in the area and due to building pressure some of them have been bulldozed into housing developments. The area has thick yellow pine forests probably with a thick coat of dead, flammable pine needles on the forest floor. The green pine needles have a lot of resin in them and when the tree catches fire it is quickly converted into a huge torch. There have been fairly high winds there too, but not as strong or as steady as Great Plains winds.
KEH