Table Rock fire now 8,679 acres: helicopters ramping up water drops

PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – Crews in Pickens County said the Table Rock Complex fire nearly doubled in size Thursday and is now more than 8,600 acres in size.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, along with state emergency management personnel, will hold a briefing at 11:15 a.m. Friday to update on the Table Rock Complex Fire response.

We will live stream that briefing in the video player above.

Helicopters were in and out of the Pickens County command post constantly Thursday, which emergency management said gives crews an aerial view of the fire. They said it helps crews get a better feel for the fire behavior and gives a more accurate point to attack.

“One of the things they are hampered by today is the smoke,” Billy Gibson, the Emergency Management director for Pickens County said. “They’re really flying blind as far as where that water is going to land, and they want to make sure that they are as accurate as possible and that they’re not wasting a trip if you will.”

Gibson said even with multiple containment lines in place, the Table Rock State Park fire is still growing.

“The biggest thing we want to do is be able to completely extinguish the fire as best we can and the best thing for that is water,” Gibson said. “Getting those helicopters, the aircraft and being able to drop it on those lines and especially where the head of the fire is located to try to extinguish it or at the very least try to cool it down so the fire lines will hold once they’re in place.”

He told 7News they are also fighting fire with fire in an effort to burn fuel around nearby structures.

“The main thing is we want to make sure that life safety issues have been taken into account, that was the evacuations, and then making sure our folks are safe,” he said “Then the second being the structural protection. If we can get that fuel burned up around those potential homes, that’ll take that part of the anxiety down some.”

Gibson said 667 homes in the area have been evacuated. The official evacuation shelter is located at Marietta First Baptist Church at 2936 Geer Highway in Marietta.

On Friday, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said they will add more focus on the northeast edge of the Table Rock fire.

That focus will include structure protection, bulldozer lines, and some burn outs ahead of the main fire.

Officials said they’re also working to keep the north side of the fire from jumping across the state line into North Carolina.

Firefighters are also working to contain the Persimmon Ridge fire, focusing on the eastern and northwest edges of the fire to stop it from spreading into homes and communities.