South Carolina, 2019

Wildfire in South Carolina, May 28 to 29, 2019

May 28 to 29, 2019 · NWS CAE · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Dry conditions, and some wind, led to the spread of a significant wildfire in Aiken Co SC, which led to some road closures and some evacuations. No fatalities, injuries or significant structural damage were reported.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS CAE wrote it up.

Dry conditions, and some wind, led to the spread of a significant wildfire in Aiken Co SC, which led to some road closures and some evacuations. No fatalities, injuries or significant structural damage were reported.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Aiken

When
May 28, 1:00 PM EST to May 29, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Aiken forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
33.544, -81.635 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

According to media reports, trained spotters, and local authorities, a human-caused fire started near Interstate 20 and Old Graniteville Hwy (Hwy 191), north of the town of Graniteville, around 1400 EDT (1300 EST) on Tuesday May 28th. Due to dry conditions and some wind, the fire spread and eventually consumed around 200 acres. This led to the evacuation of some homes near I-20 and Old Graniteville Hwy, and also led to the closure of Interstate 20 between mile markers 11 and 18. Evacuees were allowed to return home that night and the Interstate was reopened to traffic the next morning around 0900 EDT (0800 EST). No fatalities, injuries or significant structural damage was reported.

What these are

Wildfire
A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, May 2019

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 819221.