What’s the difference between red flag fire alerts and red flag warnings in SC?

Consecutive days of sweltering triple digit temperatures have prompted a pair of notices from forestry and weather officials in South Carolina. But the two warnings with similar names have different meanings, officials say.

The S.C. Forestry Commission issued a Red Flag Fire Alert for the entire state Wednesday morning, which discourages people from doing any outdoor burning while weather conditions present an elevated risk of wildfire. The risk comes from consecutive days of low humidity, elevated drought conditions and dry fuels on the ground.

Later Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service in Columbia issued a Red Flag Warning for the Midlands and Pee Dee areas that expires at 10 p.m. Thursday.

That warning means there is a significant risk for wildfires from the combination of dry fuels, low relative humidity and winds, according to the weather service. The warning is issued to give fire management agencies and the public some advance notice that those conditions are expected, and residents are urged to postpone burning until conditions improve.

The warnings follow consecutive days of 100 degree days in South Carolina. While the National Weather Service’s Red Flag Warning expires at 10 p.m. Thursday, Forestry Commission spokesman Doug Wood said their Red Flag Fire Alert will remain in effect “for the foreseeable next few days.”

Already this week, crews have put out two fires along Interstate 20 in Aiken County and Interstate 77 in Fairfield County.

“There are wildfires every day in South Carolina, usually multiple wildfires,” Wood said. “You don’t hear about them most of the time because they’re under 10 acres and in very rural areas.”

A burn ban has not yet been issued in South Carolina, and while a burn ban is not off the table, Wood said the state is not seeing the combination of criteria required to implement one.

“Fortunately, our winds are not as high as what we usually see that warrants a burn ban,” he said.

Bans on burning can be issued either by the director of the Forestry Commission or the governor.

In the city of Columbia, open fires are prohibited regardless of the weather or drought conditions, according to Chief Aubrey Jenkins of the Columbia Fire Department.

“You can’t burn in the city anyway,” Jenkins said. “We had several individual brush fires (Wednesday). A lot of times, people smoke and throw the cigarette butts out the window. We just want people to be conscious of stuff like that.”

Jenkins said anyone living outside the city is asked to check with Richland County before doing any burning.

This story was originally published May 30, 2019 at 10:31 AM.