Horry County, S.C. fire 30 % contained
Following Tropical Storm Helene, wildfires in Western NC could be more difficult to contain
Horry County, S.C. fire 30 percent contained as of March 3, 2025.
South Carolina Daily Gazette: The 2,060-acre Carolina Forest fire that led to hundreds of evacuations in Horry County is 30% contained as of Monday morning, according to the State Forestry Commission.
While the fire covered a lot of acres, no one has been injured and no homes destroyed, according to Horry County Fire Department spokesperson Tony Casey. He said property damage has been minimal, such as melted fences and siding on a house.
After a massive flare up of more than 100 wildfires over the weekend, encompassing thousands of acres, the South Carolina Forestry Commission says the Carolina Forest Fire is one of only three that remain burning.
“We’re in great shape,” Doug Wood, spokesperson for the forestry commission, told the SC Daily Gazette.
More than 175 wildfires burned across Horry, Spartanburg, Oconee, Union and Pickens Counties, impacting more than 4,200 acres, according to the State Fire Marshal. In response, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Sunday.
McMaster’s declaration came a day after the forestry commission issued a statewide outdoor burn ban.
After Tropical Storm Helene, wildfires in Western North Carolina could be more difficult to contain
Despite recent rainfall, wildfire risk remains high in Western North Carolina, especially after an unusually dry October. According to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor released on Nov. 14, Western North Carolina is abnormally dry, indicating a higher-than-normal risk of wildfires.
“The rain’s beneficial. We need it, we want it, we’re grateful for it,” said Philip Jackson, public information officer for the North Carolina Forest Service. “But at this point, it only temporarily knocks the dust down and kind of helps us keep a lid on things.”
In November 2023 the NC Forest Service responded to more than 1,200 wildfires, with about 2,000 total during the peak wildfire season from October to December, including two large blazes in October 2023: the Collett Ridge wildfire in the Nantahala National Forest which burned over 5,000 acres and the 430-acre Poplar Drive fire in Henderson County.
This fall, however, land managers are facing a new challenge: accessing wildfires in order to protect homes and remote communities is complicated by damage from Tropical Storm Helene which includes washed-out bridges, impassable roads and thousands of acres of fallen trees.
Former DHEC director nominated to keep leading South Carolina’s public health agency
COLUMBIA — Gov. Henry McMaster has tapped the interim director of South Carolina’s 5-month-old public health agency to permanently lead the department. Dr. Edward Simmer has been the interim director of the 2,000-employee Department of Public Health since July. That’s when the former Department of Health and Environmental Control — which Simmer began leading in 2021 — officially split into two separate agencies. His salary is $258,960.
“I am grateful for his continued commitment to serving our state and know he will build upon the progress he has made in advancing public health in South Carolina,” McMaster said in a news release announcing his decision.
The 2022 law that required DHEC to split put both newly organized agencies into the governor’s Cabinet. Previously, Simmer answered to a board of commissioners appointed by the governor. Now Simmer answers directly to the governor, who has sole authority in picking Cabinet nominees. Simmer must still be confirmed by the Senate.
— South Carolina Daily Gazette
Baltimore using blockchain to reduce vacant properties
In an effort to revive vacant properties and expedite real estate transactions, Baltimore is using a blockchain-enabled platform to manage property title records.
Launched last week, the platform offers a secure system to provide verified, immutable property data to users, which will help reduce title fraud and decrease the time it takes to complete real estate transactions, city officials said in a statement.
“This initiative is part of the city’s ongoing commitment to utilizing cutting-edge technology to improve public services and foster a more efficient real estate market,” officials said.
The blockchain system will be particularly helpful for bringing vacant properties in the city back on the market more efficiently, said Alice Kennedy, housing commissioner at the Baltimore City Department of Housing.
Climate change increases insurance costs
When Miguel Zablah bought his five-bedroom home in Miami’s leafy Shenandoah neighborhood in June of 2020, he said he paid $7,000 a year for homeowner’s insurance.
The house, built in 1923, sits on high ground and has survived a century of famously volatile South Florida weather. But in just four short years, Zablah said his homeowner’s insurance premium has more than doubled to $15,000 a year. Quotes for next year’s premiums are looking even worse.
“Some insurance companies are now quoting me at $20,000, $25,000 on my house, which is ridiculous,” said Zablah, who works in private equity. The premium increases are so steep that he’s considering just paying off his mortgage — and foregoing the insurance that his lender requires him to carry.
“I’m very grateful that I’m in a good position,” he added.
Zablah’s premium increases are a symptom of a broader insurance crisis plaguing real estate markets across America. Experts say it’s fueled, in large part, by the disastrous effects of human-caused climate change.
Flooding is more frequent. Higher temperatures stoke stronger hurricanes. Wildfires burn more acres. And Americans have spent generations moving to sunny places that are often the most in harm’s way, including Florida, Texas and California.
Orleans Parish School Board settles lawsuit against the city of New Orleans
Amid a massive financial crisis spurred by an accounting error, the Orleans Parish School Board has agreed to dismiss a years-old lawsuit against the city of New Orleans for $20 million in cash and $70 million in funding guarantees.
While school leaders across the city may be reassured by the quick $20 million payment, which will help plug budget holes for the 2024-25 school year, charter officials are still anxiously awaiting final details on the district’s promise to directly support their school budgets and students in the face of the shortfall that remains, which is estimated at $16 million – but may be more, depending on what financial advisors find as they look through district ledgers.
This settlement has both short-term and long-term implications. By the end of this calendar year, the city will pay the school board $10 million, with another $10 million to follow by April 1; the agreement also directs the City Council to pay an additional $70 million through education-program funding over the next 10 years. A promise education advocates are happy to have in place with council and mayoral elections coming up.
The City Council had set aside $8 million last year, to deal with the lawsuit, but in light of the district’s financial crisis, the Council came up with extra money and hastened the agreement, Councilman Joe Giarrusso said.
Alaska keeps ranked choice voting
Voters in Alaska appear to have preserved the state’s unique ranked-choice voting system by the narrowest of margins as elections officials tabulated a final batch of ballots.
Opponents of ranked-choice voting had qualified Ballot Measure 2, which asked voters to repeal the system first adopted in 2020. That ballot measure trailed by just 664 votes, a margin of about 0.2%.
Alaska voters who cast ballots on Election Day favored repealing the system by a small margin. But early and absentee votes broke more heavily against the repeal, and the measure’s lead shrank consistently over the ensuing weeks. By Monday, the measure was failing by a slim margin.
The results mirror the initial move to adopt ranked-choice voting. Election Day voters opposed the ballot measure that implemented the system by a wide margin, but absentee ballots put it over the top weeks later.
