South Carolina Archives

Wildfires prompt evacuations and an emergency declaration in the Carolinas

Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation in one North Carolina county as emergency crews fought separate fires in an area of the state still recovering from Hurricane Helene, while South Carolina’s governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety issued a mandatory evacuation Saturday night for parts of Polk County in western North Carolina. The agency warns residents could be trapped, injured, or killed if they remain in the impacted areas. In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster has declared a state of emergency as part of an effort to stop a blaze in Pickens County called the Table Rock Fire that started Friday in the Blue Ridge Mountains.… Continue Reading

43 monkeys remain on the run from South Carolina lab. CEO thinks they’re having an adventure

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say 43 monkeys bred for medical research that escaped a compound in South Carolina have been spotted in the woods near a fence surrounding the site and that workers are using food to try to recapture them. Officials say the Rhesus macaques made a break for it Wednesday after an employee at the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee didn’t fully lock a door as she fed and checked on them. The monkeys are about the size of a cat. They are all females weighing about 7 pounds. Alpha Genesis, federal health officials and the police all say the monkeys pose no risk to public health.… Continue Reading